Rock Dove (Columba livia) [XC263180]
by Carlos W. from coria del r\u00edo, sevilla, andaluc\u00eda, Spain (alarm call)
Rock Dove (Columba livia) [XC446270]
by Alain Verneau from Reserva do Setor S\u00edtio de Recreio Cara\u00edbas-Goi\u00e2nia, Goi\u00e1s, Brazil (song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Mainly throughout the year, except May.
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Nest
A simple platform composed of twigs, sticks, roots, stems, dried grass or straw, feathers, stones, in a sheltered location including cliffs, offshore islands, or in caves, on buildings and other structures.
Eggs (Guide)
2; slightly glossy, white; oval; about 39 x 28 mm. Incubation: 17 - 19 days; by both sexes.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 30 - 35 days.
Subspecies
Ancestor of feral pigeon. Closely related to Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris) of central Asia and Snow Pigeon (Columba leuconota) of Himalayas. Subspecies nigricans may refer to feral birds, and thus be invalid. Considerable confusion as to the degree to which several populations are "natural", and how much they have been affected by mixing with feral birds.
The following 13 subspecies are recognised:
livia Gmelin, 1789 - British Is and western Mediterranean through Dalmatia and northern Libya east to Urals, Caucasus and western Siberia.
atlantis Bannerman, 1931 - Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde Is.
canariensis Bannerman, 1914 - Canary Is and islands off Morocco.
gymnocycla G. R. Gray, 1856 - Mauritania, Mali and Ghana, and coastal Senegambia and Guinea.
targia Geyr von Schweppenburg, 1916 - Central Sahara to central Sudan.
dakhlae Meinertzhagen, R, 1928 - Dakhla and Kharga Oases.
butleri R. Meinertzhagen, 1921 - Gebeit, Red Sea Province and Egyptian Sudan.
schimperi Bonaparte, 1854 - Nile valley to Khartoum; Red Sea hills from eastern Egypt to northern Eritrea.
palaestinae Zedlitz, 1912 - Palestine, Sinai and Arabia south to Aden and Masqat.
gaddi Zarudny & Loudon, 1906 - Azerbaijan, Iran, western and northern Afghanistan, Turkmeniya, Ustyurt Plateau in Transcaspia and Uzbekistan.
neglecta Hume, 1873 - Transcaspia and Turkestan south to Iran, Baluchistan, Sind and north-western Punjab, and east to Tien Shan and south-western Tibet.
intermedia Strickland, 1844 - India and Sri Lanka.
nigricans Buturlin, 1908 - Mongolia and northern China in Shanxi, Jilin and Gansu.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet