Rock Dove

Columba livia
ART LINK
STANFORD LOCATIONS:

This exotic species is a fairly common breeder throughout main campus, nesting exclusively on buildings and other artificial structures.
  
Nest
Location
Nest
Type
Eggs
Mating System
Dev.
Parental Care
Primary &
2ndary Diet
Foraging
Strategy
BUILDING
MF
I: 16-19 DAYS
ALTRICIAL
CLIFF
F -M
2
(1-2)
MONOG
F: 25-26 DAYS
MF
BREEDING: Cities, towns, rural areas, but always near human habitations. 4-5 or more broods.
DISPLAYS: Courting male inflates neck, spreads tail, and with much bowing accompanied by polysyllabic cooing, pursues female on ground, following and circling around her.
NEST: On building ledge, under eaves, under bridges, etc.; rarely on cliff ledge, the presumed ancestral type of nest site. Loose saucer of roots, stems, leaves, etc., no lining.
EGGS: White, unmarked. 1.6" (39 mm).
DIET: Esp grain, occ green leaves, invertebrates. Young initially fed crop milk.
CONSERVATION: Winter resident. Introduced.
NOTES: Gregarious, often seen in flocks when roosting, feeding or flying; prefer to breed in groups. Impressive flight capability, marked by much gliding and wheeling; often glide to landing. May breed at 6 months. Young brooded for 7 days. Urban feeding groups are not closed flocks; individuals sample many feeding sites, temporarily adopting particularly good sites. Marked individual feeding preferences.
ESSAYS: Bird Milk; Navigation and Orientation; Urban Birds; Feral Birds; Monogamy.
REFERENCES: Cramp, 1985; Giraldeau and Lefebvre, 1985; Lefebvre, 1985.

Help Abbreviations Species-Alphabetical Species-Taxonomic Essays-Alphabetical
Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).