| Stock dove | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Columba |
| Species: | C. oenas |
| Binomial name | |
| Columba oenas | |
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| Range of C. oenas Breeding Resident Non-breeding | |
The stock dove or stock pigeon (Columba oenas) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western Palearctic.
The stock dove was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . He placed it with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba and coined the binomial name Columba oenas. [2] The specific name oenas is from the Ancient Greek oinas meaning "pigeon". [3]
Two subspecies are recognised: [4]
The genus Columba is in the pigeon family, and has the widest distribution. Its members are typically pale grey or brown, often with white head or neck markings or iridescent green or purple patches on the neck and breast. The neck feathers may be stiffened and aligned to form grooves, but these are absent in this species. The stock dove is less grey in plumage than other pigeons in Europe.
The three western European Columba pigeons, though alike, have very distinctive characteristics. The common wood pigeon may be readily distinguished by its large size, as well as the white on its neck (in adults) and wings. The rock dove and stock dove are more alike in size and plumage, but wild specimens of the former have a white rump and two well-marked dark bars on the wing, while the rump of the stock dove is grey and its wing bars incomplete. The feral pigeon (the same species as the rock dove) is highly variable, and indistinctly marked grey specimens with the white rump missing can sometimes resemble the stock dove quite closely.
The stock dove is sociable as well as gregarious, often consorting with wood pigeons, though doubtless it is the presence of food which brings them together.
The short, deep, "grunting" Ooo-uu-ooh call is quite distinct from the modulated cooing notes of the common wood pigeon; it is loud enough to be described, somewhat fancifully, as "roaring".
The stock dove is the scarcest of the wild European pigeons, though still common in ideal habitat. In part of its European and western Asiatic range it is a migrant. There has been a sharp decline in France (−57% in 1976). Although the species is not considered threatened in Europe, it is classified in Schedule 2 of the Birds Directive and Annex III the Berne Convention. [5] 100,000 to 200,000 individuals winter in France. [6] Over half of the European stock dove population is found in the UK. [7]
The nest is usually in a hole in an old tree. Before deforestation, the stock dove was the most frequent pigeon, nesting mostly in oak or pine wood, but as it usually nests in cavities in trees it was normally only found in old forests. In plantations there are not as many holes to nest in, so it is scarcer. In addition, as the stock dove is double-brooded, requiring two holes for its broods. It has been observed nesting in rabbit burrows, ruins, old poplar hedges, cracks in crags or cliff faces, in ivy, and in the thick growth around the boles of lime trees. It will also use nest boxes. The cavity should be about 75 centimetres deep and the hole should be big enough to admit a fist. Though nesting material is seldom used, the squabs leave the hole very oily. Stock doves prefer to nest close together. Outside of the breeding season, stock doves may also roost in cavities.
The habitat of the stock dove is generally open country. Even though it nests in trees it does not prefer densely wooded areas. It is also common on coasts where the cliffs provide holes.
Its flight is quick, performed by regular beats, with an occasional sharp flick of the wings, a characteristic of pigeons in general. It perches well, and in nuptial display walks along a horizontal branch with swelled neck, lowered wings, and fanned tail. During the circling spring flight the wings are smartly cracked like a whip.
Most of its food is plant material; young shoots and seedlings are favoured, and it will take grain as well as insects and snails. In some areas it feeds mostly on acorns and pine seeds. Its diet can include a variety of foods: berries such as bay and hawthorn, figs, cereal grains, beans, peas, and small invertebrates that are obtained while walking on the ground. During autumn migration in October, stock doves stop over at places with an abundance of acorns, supplementing the diet with shoots and leaves.
The common name stock dove has caused some confusion about the origins of this bird. The modern usage of the word "stock" might imply that the bird has been tamed and kept as stock for food and merchandise, leading to the belief that this bird is a hybrid breed with its origins in human aviaries; however, this is not the case. The word "stock" in the common name of this species refers not to the stock of trade, but comes from the Old English "stocc" meaning "stump, post, stake, tree trunk, log,". [8] Therefore, "stock dove" means roughly "a dove which lives in hollow trees". [9] Such hollow trees near human settlements would often be taken and used as wood stock for firewood, hence the name.
The genus name Columba is the Latin word meaning "pigeon, dove", [10] whose older etymology comes from the Ancient Greek κόλυμβος (kolumbos), "a diver", from κολυμβάω (kolumbao), "dive, plunge headlong, swim". [11] Aristophanes (Birds, 304) and others use the word κολυμβίς (kolumbis), "diver", for the name of the bird, because of its swimming motion in the air. [10]
The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon is a member of the bird family Columbidae. In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon".
The European turtle dove is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.
The lesser spotted woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus Dendrocopos. Some taxonomic authorities continue to list the species there.
The European green woodpecker is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the western Palearctic but in Spain and Portugal it is replaced by the similar Iberian green woodpecker.
The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Europe. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-gray upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the east have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat.
The common wood pigeon or common woodpigeon, also known as simply wood pigeon, wood-pigeon or woodpigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the genus Columba, which includes closely related species such as the rock dove. It has historically been known as the ring dove, and is locally known in southwest England as the quist, or in southeast England as the "culver"; the latter name has given rise to several areas known for keeping pigeons to be named after it, such as Culver Down and Culver Hole in South Wales. It has a flexible diet, predominantly feeding on vegetable matter, including cereal crops, leading to them being regarded as an agricultural pest. Wood pigeons are extensively hunted over large parts of their range, but this does not seem to have a great impact on their population.
The red-headed woodpecker is a mid-sized woodpecker found in temperate North America. Its breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the east-central United States. It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species, having been down-listed from near threatened in 2018.
The mourning dove is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, colloquially as the turtle dove, and it was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carolina turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds and a popular gamebird, with more than 20 million birds shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and meat. Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure is due to its prolific breeding; in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods of two young each in a single year. The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph).
The bird genus Columba comprises a group of medium to large pigeons. The terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used indiscriminately for smaller and larger Columbidae, respectively. Columba species – at least those of Columba sensu stricto – are generally termed "pigeons", and in many cases wood-pigeons. The rock dove, has given rise to the majority of domesticated pigeon breeds, such as the racing pigeon and the fantail pigeon some of which have become feral. Meanwhile, "wood pigeon" by itself usually means the common wood pigeon.
The speckled pigeon, also African rock pigeon or Guinea pigeon, is a pigeon that is a resident breeding bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common and widespread species in open habitats over much of its range, although there are sizable gaps in its distribution. It is sometimes referred to as the Guinea pigeon due to its similar coloring to some species of guineafowl.
The vinaceous dove is a bird species in the pigeon family Columbidae that widely resident across the Sahel and Sudan (region).
The emerald dove or common emerald dove, also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pacific emerald dove and Stephan's emerald dove were both considered conspecific.
The Namaqua dove is a small pigeon. It is the only species in the genus Oena. It is found over much of Sub-Saharan Africa as well as Arabia and Madagascar.
The white-crowned pigeon is a fruit and seed-eating species of bird in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. It is found primarily in the Caribbean.
The scaled pigeon is a large New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder from southern Mexico south to western Ecuador, southern Brazil, northern Argentina, and Trinidad.
The zebra dove, also known as the barred ground dove, or barred dove, is a species of bird of the dove family, Columbidae, native to Southeast Asia. They are small birds with a long tail, predominantly brownish-grey in colour with black-and-white barring. The species is known for its pleasant, soft, staccato cooing calls.
The yellow-eyed pigeon, pale-backed pigeon, yellow-eyed dove or yellow-eyed stock dove is a member of the family Columbidae. It breeds in southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, north-east Iran and extreme north-west China. It winters in north-east Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Rajasthan. The bird has declined in numbers over the years, chiefly because of hunting, and it is listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The ruddy quail-dove is a species of bird in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. It breeds throughout the West Indies, Central America, and tropical South America. It has appeared as a vagrant in Florida and southern Texas. It lays two buff-colored eggs on a flimsy platform built on a shrub. Some nests are built on the ground.
The Pacific imperial pigeon or lupe is a widespread species of pigeon in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus described 554 species of bird and gave each a binomial name.
