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Species
Columbidae
EOL Text
Columbidae (doves, larks, sandgrouse) is prey of:
Taxidea taxus
Falco sparverius
Red racer
Pituophis
Crotalus
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Geococcyx velox
Lynx rufus
Serpentes
Varanidae
Erinaceus europaeus
Felis silvestris libyca
Accipiter badius
Based on studies in:
USA: Arizona, Sonora Desert (Desert or dune)
India, Rajasthan Desert (Desert or dune)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- P. G. Howes, The Giant Cactus Forest and Its World: A Brief Biology of the Giant Cactus Forest of Our American Southwest (Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, New York; Little, Brown, Boston; 1954), from pp. 222-239, from p. 227.
- I. K. Sharma, A study of ecosystems of the Indian desert, Trans. Indian Soc. Desert Technol. and Univ. Center Desert Stud. 5(2):51-55, from p. 52 and A study of agro-ecosystems in the Indian desert, ibid. 5:77-82, from p. 79 1980).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Columbidae (doves, larks, sandgrouse) preys on:
Schismus barbatus
seeds of other plants
Eleucine
Cyperus
Cenchrus
Based on studies in:
USA: Arizona, Sonora Desert (Desert or dune)
India, Rajasthan Desert (Desert or dune)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- P. G. Howes, The Giant Cactus Forest and Its World: A Brief Biology of the Giant Cactus Forest of Our American Southwest (Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, New York; Little, Brown, Boston; 1954), from pp. 222-239, from p. 227.
- I. K. Sharma, A study of ecosystems of the Indian desert, Trans. Indian Soc. Desert Technol. and Univ. Center Desert Stud. 5(2):51-55, from p. 52 and A study of agro-ecosystems in the Indian desert, ibid. 5:77-82, from p. 79 1980).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Pigeons and doves have a variety of songs and calls that they use to find mates, signal danger, and defend territories. Males have special vocalizations that are only used in courtship and advertising. Both males and females sing; most songs are flute-like cooing noises that differ in the length of each note and in the interval between notes. Some species sound like a whistle, and others sound more like a croak. Small columbid species have higher-pitched calls than larger species. They will sometimes call in duets. Some species make quiet purring sounds that function in mate-bonding. Adults will respond to song playbacks. Young birds have begging calls and the results of cross-fostering experiments show that songs are innate and are not learned from their parents.
Pigeons and doves have a variety of courtship displays (see Reproduction: Mating Systems). They also have threat displays in which they spread and raise their wings and spread their tail. If the display does not work to repel and intruder, they will “buffet” with their wings or peck at the intruder.
Columbids are excellent navigators and use both the magnetic field of the planet and the position of the sun to find their way.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic
Other Communication Modes: duets
Perception Channels: magnetic
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Columbidae.html |
The oldest recorded columbid is a mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) that lived 19 years and 4 months. Adult annual survival has been estimated to be 40 to 65 percent.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Columbidae.html |
Pigeons and doves are monogamous, and many have the same mate from year to year. They have numerous displays that are performed either on the ground or in the air. For example, while on the ground, males of some species squat, lift their tail, lower their head, twitch their wings and scratch the ground with their feet while calling. Some species have aerial displays that usually involve wing claps (most forest and ground living species do not have aerial displays). Aerial displays are used in courtship and to indicate territory boundaries. During a pre-copulation display, a male inflates his crop, bows, spreads his tail feathers, pirouettes and calls. This display varies among species, and birds with ornaments and colorful plumage usually show them off during the display. Some species of pigeons and doves also engage in courtship feeding and/or mate guarding.
Mating System: monogamous
Breeding is triggered by food availability and photoperiod and can be seasonal or year-round, depending on the species. Some columbids breed colonially, some solitarily. The males bring nest material to the females who build the nest. The nest is a platform or shallow cup of twigs and stems built on a crevice, cliff, tree or the ground. Columbids will re-use nests and will build nests on top of abandoned bird nests. Nest building usually lasts two to four days and nest sites are defended.
Clutch size is usually one to two eggs (occasionally three). Frugivorous species usually have only one egg; fruit is low in protein so the birds can not raise more than one chick. The eggs are white or buff colored and unmarked. Both males and females incubate, but females usually spend more time incubating than males. Species that live in the desert wet their stomach feathers before incubating to help cool the eggs by evaporation. Incubation lasts 11 to 30 days, and hatching can be either synchronous or asynchronous. Chicks are altricial and are fed by both parents. Chicks fledge in 10 to 36 days (earlier if disturbed) and may continue to receive food from their parents for 30 to 40 days.
Breeding pairs can have up to five broods in one breeding season. Their short breeding cycle allows pigeons and doves to have more broods to compensate for their small brood sizes and relatively high rates of predation. Fledglings grow their adult plumage a few months after fledging and reach sexual maturity in 6 to 12 months.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); fertilization (Internal )
Both males and females incubate, but females usually spend more time incubating than males. Species that live in the desert wet their stomach feathers before incubating to help cool the eggs by evaporation. Incubation lasts 11 to 30 days. Chicks are altricial and are fed by both parents. The chicks are usually fed crop-milk for three to four days and are then fed seeds and fruit, however, some continue to be fed crop-milk even after they have fledged. Crop-milk is made in the crop of the adult birds and is 75 to 77 percent water, 11 to 13 percent protein, 5 to 7 percent fat and 1.2 to 1.8 percent minerals and amino acids. Nestling pigeons and doves grow rapidly because of the crop-milk. Chicks fledge in 10 to 36 days (earlier if disturbed) and may continue to receive food from their parents for 30 to 40 days.
Parental Investment: altricial ; male parental care ; female parental care
- Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, J. Cox. 2001. Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Sussex: Pica Press.
- Baptista, L., P. Trail, H. Horblit. 1992. Family Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves). Pp. 60-243 in J del Hoyo, A Elliott, J Sargatal, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 4. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
- Lack, P. 2003. Pigeons and Doves. Pp. 288-295 in C Perrins, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Birds. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
- Wells, J., A. Wells. 2001. Pigeons and Doves. Pp. 319-325 in C Elphick, J Dunning, D Sibley, eds. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Columbidae.html |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records: | 1,181 | Public Records: | 370 |
Specimens with Sequences: | 736 | Public Species: | 92 |
Specimens with Barcodes: | 723 | Public BINs: | 89 |
Species: | 155 | ||
Species With Barcodes: | 113 | ||
Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Columbidae
Some species of pigeons and doves have expanded their ranges and increased their population sizes as a result of human activities (for example, 'rock doves Columba livia' and 'Eurasian collared doves Streptopelia decaocto'). Other species are less fortunate and their ranges and populations are shrinking as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting, introduced species, agriculture and pesticides. Columbids that live on islands are the most threatened. Habitat preservation is the best solution to dwindling numbers of some columbids, and captive breeding may be useful as a last resort.
The IUCN lists 109 species of columbids in various categories from ‘Extinct’ to ‘Near Threatened. CITES lists 26 members of Columbidae ranging from Appendix I to Appendix III.
- 2004. "UNEP-WCMC Species Database: CITES-Listed Species" (On-line). Accessed April 28, 2004 at http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html.
- IUCN, 2003. "2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" (On-line). Accessed April 28, 2004 at http://www.redlist.org/.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Columbidae.html |
Pigeons and doves are in the order Columbiformes and family Columbidae. There are five subfamilies within Columbidae, 42 genera and 308 species. They are easily recognizable and have a world-wide distribution (although they are not found in Antarctica). They live in almost all types of terrestrial habitats from desert to dense forest and large urban areas. Pigeons and doves are stocky birds that range from 15 to 75 cm long. Many of the seed-eating columbids are buff, grey and brown colors, while the fruit-eaters are often more brightly colored. Many have ornamentation and iridescent feathers on the neck, breast, back, wings and face. They range from solitary to extremely social; the now extinct passenger pigeons (Ectopistes migratorius) are reported to have occurred in flocks of up to two million birds that were so dense that they blocked out the sun.
- Dickinson, E. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, 3rd edition. London: Christopher Helm.
- Baptista, L., P. Trail, H. Horblit. 1992. Family Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves). Pp. 60-243 in J del Hoyo, A Elliott, J Sargatal, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 4. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
- Lack, P. 2003. Pigeons and Doves. Pp. 288-295 in C Perrins, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Birds. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press.
- Wells, J., A. Wells. 2001. Pigeons and Doves. Pp. 319-325 in C Elphick, J Dunning, D Sibley, eds. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Columbidae.html |