Columbidae - Doves, Pigeons
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There are around 318 species of doves and pigeons found around the world, except in Antarctica. They have small heads, plump bodies, short necks, and small bills with soft fleshy covering at the base called the cere. They have a ring of skin around their eyes that can be red, yellow, blue, or white. They eat seeds, fruits, and other plant matter. Doves and pigeons that eat seeds are usually gray or brown; fruit eating species are often more brightly colored.
Doves and pigeons are found in a wide variety of habitats including: rainforests, swamps, woodlands, deserts, grasslands, and cities! Pigeons and doves pairs stay together and mate from year-to-year. Pigeons and doves feed their chicks crop-milk for the first few days after they hatch. Crop milk is a milky substance that comes form the bird's crop. The crop is special food-storage chamber that is part of the bird's digestive system. Both the male and the female produce crop milk. Crop milk is high in fat and vitamins A and B and helps the chicks grow!
One species in this family that was once found in North America is the passenger pigeon.
The passenger pigeon was a common bird in central and eastern North America. Scientists estimate that the population at one time may have numbered between three and five million birds. It lived in large colonies.
The passenger pigeon probably became extinct from a combination of natural and man-made causes. Hunting, along with a low reproduction rate, probably led to the bird's extinction. The last known passenger pigeon died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.
World Status Key
Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct Wild Extinct
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist. If no status is listed, there is not enough data to establish status.
US Status Key
Threatened in US Threatened in NH Endangered in US Endangered in NH Breeds in NH Introduced
Status taken from US Fish and Wildlife and NH Fish and Game
New Hampshire Species
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North/Central American Species
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Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia |
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Brown-backed Dove - Leptotila battyi
Gray-chested Dove - Leptotila cassini
Caribbean Dove - Leptotila jamaicensis
Gray-headed Dove - Leptotila plumbeiceps
Gray-fronted Dove - Leptotila rufaxilla
White-tipped Dove - Leptotila verreauxi
Grenada Dove - Leptotila wellsi
Ring-tailed Pigeon - Patagioenas caribaea
Pale-vented Pigeon - Patagioenas cayennensis
Bare-eyed Pigeon - Patagioenas corensis
Band-tailed Pigeon - Patagioenas fasciata
Red-billed Pigeon - Patagioenas flavirostris
Dusky Pigeon - Patagioenas goodsoni
Plain Pigeon - Patagioenas inornata
White-crowned Pigeon - Patagioenas leucocephala
Short-billed Pigeon - Patagioenas nigrirostris
Plumbeous Pigeon - Patagioenas plumbea
Scaled Pigeon - Patagioenas speciosa
Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa
Ruddy Pigeon - Patagioenas subvinacea
Blue-headed Quail-dove - Starnoenas cyanocephala
Spotted Dove - Stigmatopelia chinensis
Oriental Turtle-dove - Streptopelia orientalis
White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica
Eared Dove - Zenaida auriculata
Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
Socorro Dove - Zenaida graysoni |
North/Central American Species
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Maroon-chested Ground-dove - Claravis mondetoura
Blue Ground-dove - Claravis pretiosa
Inca Dove - Columbina inca
Plain-breasted Ground-dove - Columbina minuta
Common Ground-dove - Columbina passerina
Scaled Dove - Columbina squammata
Ruddy Ground-dove - Columbina talpacoti
Passenger Pigeon - Ectopistes migratorius
White-faced Quail-dove - Geotrygon albifacies
Gray-headed Quail-dove - Geotrygon caniceps
Tuxtla Quail-dove - Geotrygon carrikeri
Rufous-breasted Quail-dove - Geotrygon chiriquensis
Key West Quail-dove - Geotrygon chrysia
Buff-fronted Quail-dove - Geotrygon costaricensis
Russet-crowned Quail-dove - Geotrygon goldmani
Purplish-backed Quail-dove - Geotrygon lawrencii
Lined Quail-dove - Geotrygon linearis
Ruddy Quail-dove - Geotrygon montana
Bridled Quail-dove - Geotrygon mystacea
Olive-backed Quail-dove - Geotrygon veraguensis
Crested Quail-dove - Geotrygon versicolor
Violaceous Quail-dove - Geotrygon violacea |
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