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Columbidae:
Pigeons and doves are some 300 species of near passerine birds in the family Columbidae. In general parlance the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. In ornithological practice there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones, but this is in no way consistently applied, and historically the common names for these birds involve much variation between "dove" and "pigeon”. The species commonly referred to just as the "pigeon" is the feral Rock Pigeon, common in many cities. Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere. The usually flimsy nests are made of sticks, and the two white eggs are incubated by both sexes. Doves feed on seeds, fruit and other soft plantstuff. Unlike most other birds, the doves and pigeons produce "crop milk", which is secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. Both sexes produce this highly nutritious substance to feed to the young. This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. The young doves and pigeons are called "squabs”. |
