Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general 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 a great deal of variation between the terms “dove” and “pigeon.

Eeesh!! I Don’t Think My Eyes Will Stay Open Much Longer!!!

FEATURED: ANIMAL CAPTIONS & CONFESSIONS

This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. Young doves and pigeons are called “squabs.” Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and have short slender bills with a fleshy cere. The species commonly referred to just as “pigeon” is the feral Rock Pigeon, common in many cities. Doves and pigeons build relatively flimsy nests from sticks and other debris, which may be placed in trees, on ledges or on the ground, depending on species. They lay one or two eggs, and both parents care for the young, which leave the nest after 7 to 28 days. Doves feed on seeds, fruit and plants. 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. Pigeons and doves are distributed everywhere on Earth, except for the driest areas of the Sahara Desert, Antarctica and its surrounding islands and the high Arctic. They have colonised most of the world’s oceanic islands, reaching eastern Polynesia and the Chatham Islands in the Pacific, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Réunion in the Indian Ocean, and the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean.
Another image of the beautiful Pigeon taking full advantage and enjoying the heat of the sun….
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Dunedin Otago South Island New Zealand Feb. 2012
Eeesh!! I Don’t Think My Eyes Will Stay Open Much Longer!!! *

*Did You Knock On My Wood? – Wood Pigeon

I Am Supposed To Keep Abreast Of Things! Pigeon

FEATURED FEB. 2012