Rock Dove [Rock Pigeon]

Описание: You can learn more about Rock Dove - https://avibirds.com/rock-dove-pigeon/

In this video, we take a look at the Rock Dove, also known as the Rock Pigeon or the Blue Rock Dove.

You can find more info on https://avibirds.com/rock-dove-pigeon/

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Length: 29 to 37 cm (11 to 15 in)
Weight: 238–380 g (8.4–13.4 oz)
Wingspan: 62 to 72 cm (24 to 28 in)

LIFESPAN
In the wild, their lifespan is 3 to 5 years but about 15 years in captivity.

And if it sounds like there's a huge discrepancy in these two sets of numbers, there is a good reason for it. Pigeons are birds of prey and have a long list of predators to look out for.

For example raccoons, hawks, owls, accipiters and many more. Rock Doves don't possess any way to protect themselves past their flying ability, which makes them really vulnerable.

HABITAT
Rock Doves, as the name implies, tend to live on rocky cliffs, but due to great urbanization, you will be able to spot these birds everywhere, like farmlands, parks, gardens, cities and suburbs.

Rock doves are sedentary and rarely leave their local areas, which explains why you might observe these birds on a daily basis on your commute to work, school or on a stroll in the park.

BEHAVIOR
Pigeons feed on the ground in flocks or individually. They are scavengers which means they eat whatever they can find, leading to them frequently feeding on human garbage, a great source of nutrition.

Given this, it's no surprise that pigeons feed on seeds, fruits, invertebrates and many more things they can find. They also readily eat food intentionally or unintentionally left by people, including bread crumbs and littered food.

REPRODUCTION
The rock dove breeds at any time of the year, but peak times are spring and summer. Just as with their eating and living habits, rock doves are not picky about their breeding location either.

Nesting on coastal cliffs, or creating artificial cliff faces on apartment buildings or roofs. Once the eggs are laid, the incubation period is rather short, just around 17 to 19 days. With the fledgeling period lasting around a month.

TRIVIA
They can easily find their way back to their nest, even if they've been transported in isolation, which granted them infamy for being amazing tools for message sending that has been engraved in our history, as the first method of messaging, which in the current age can be seen in emails, text messages, etc.

The pigeon, like most prey bird, has side-mounted eyes, unlike humans and owls which have forward-facing eyes.
And unlike their observed appearance of fearful behaviour and lack of intellect, pigeons are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet, not only being able to take on tasks thought to only be capable by humans and primates but also have been observed to pass the mirror test, which means they are capable of identifying themselves and recognising their individuality.

And surprisingly, even with their given intellect, their eyes occupy most of the volume of their skull.

Pigeons are heavily associated with the spread of diseases. Contact with pigeon droppings has a small change of contracting histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and psittacosis and long-term exposure to both droppings and feathers can induce an allergy and are greatly linked to influenza, even though there are contradicting scientific research pointing both at pigeons being responsible for the spread and against it.

A good explanation of why these birds are so prone to carrying diseases is their wast number of parasites that cultivate on rock doves.

For example, pigeons often host intestinal helminths Capillaria columbae and Ascaridia columbae, which is a type of bacteria and sometimes larger parasites as the pigeon louse fly, which is a bloodsucking ectoparasite and the tinaminyssus melloi which is a nasal mite.

This would be a good explanation on why we are usually thought that pigeons are dirty and we should keep our distance, just to be safe. But that hasn't stopped us from domesticating these animals.

The Rock Dove has been domesticated for thousands of years and as such we now have the domestic pigeon, seen in wedding ceremonies, movies, commercials and pretty much everywhere.

Domestic pigeons have even been utilised in many wars as recent as the First and the Second World War. So to say the least, these birds are here to stay.

You can read more about Rock Dove here - https://avibirds.com/rock-dove-pigeon/

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