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Pigeons and Doves

Nancy Eilertsen and Guthrum Purdin

Natural History

The family Columbidae (order Columbiformes) comprises 313 species worldwide. Nine species of
pigeons and doves are native to North America, including the Band‐tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove
(so called because of its mournful coo), Inca Dove, and White‐winged Dove. Nonindigenous spe-
cies have been introduced, most notably the Rock (Common) Pigeon, and Eurasian Collared‐Dove
(Leahy 2004). For the purposes of this chapter, the family will be considered as a unit with specific
differences noted where necessary. Columbids range in size from 6 to 30 in. (15–75 cm). They are
plump with small heads and short legs and are generally drab‐colored, though iridescent patches
are common. The bills are slender with a cere, or operculum, at the base.
Pair bonds are formed for life; unfortunately, the high mortality rate of these nonaggressive birds
means that new pairs are formed yearly. A common sight in cities and towns is a male Rock Pigeon
doing a courtship “dance”: fluffing up while strutting around and rotating in place while bobbing
near the female. The Rock Pigeon chooses manmade ledges that mimic its native cliff nest sites;
doves may select hanging baskets, intersecting phone wires, house gutters, or low bushes or trees.
Dove nests are flimsy platforms of sticks, dried grass, and twigs, usually containing two eggs that
range from white to pale blue. These birds may nest multiple times in a season. Eggs and chicks are
often lost to predators and gravity. Hence, presentation of orphaned and injured wild chicks can
occur at nearly any time of the year, although numbers peak in spring and early summer.
Incubation is 14–19 days, with parents sharing incubation and feeding duties. The altricial young
hatch with pink or gray skin covered in long down and eyes closed. Feet are anisodactyl with three
toes forward and one toe back. Chicks grow rapidly and attain near‐adult weight by 3 weeks of age.
The most common predators of columbids include Peregrine Falcons, Cooper’s and Sharp‐shinned
Hawks, and the domestic cat. Native Band‐tailed Pigeons may be differentiated from Rock Pigeons
by legs that are yellow rather than red or pink, and bills that are yellow with a black tip.
Pigeons and doves feed largely on grains, seeds, and fruit, and are often seen on the ground in
flocks. Features that set these birds apart from other birds are their ability to drink without raising
their heads and the ability to feed their young with a secretion produced in the crop known as
“crop milk.” Crop milk is a cheese‐like material composed of crop muscle cells that have been forti-
fied with lipids and nutrients; composition is about half protein and half fat (Sales and Janssens
2003). Crop milk also contains beneficial flora and immunoglobulins that help the young chick
with immune function (Engberg et al. 1992). Crop milk is typically fed to hatchlings for the first

Hand-Rearing Birds, Second Edition. Edited by Rebecca S. Duerr and Laurie J. Gage.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.