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Dictionary Definition

pigeon n : wild and domesticated birds having a heavy body and short legs

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English

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Noun

  1. One of several birds of the family Columbidae.
  2. A person who is a target or victim of a confidence game.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

bird
victim of a confidence game

See also

Extensive Definition

Pigeons and doves constitute the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerine birds. In general parlance the 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 term "dove" and "pigeon." This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. The young doves and pigeons are called "squabs."
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere. The species commonly referred to just as the "pigeon" is the feral Rock Pigeon, common in many cities.
Their usually flimsy nests are made of sticks, and the two white eggs are incubated by both sexes. Doves feed on seeds, fruit and plants. Unlike most other birds (but see flamingo), 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.

Biology

Morphology

The pigeons and doves exhibit considerable variation in size. The largest species are the crowned pigeons of New Guinea, which can weigh up to 2000 g, the smallest species is the new World Common Ground-dove, which is the same size as a House Sparrow and weighs only 30g. The Ptilinopus fruit-doves are some of the brightest coloured pigeons, with the three endemic species of Fiji and the Indian Ocean Alectroenas being amongst the brightest coloured. Pigeons and doves may be sexually monochromatic or dichromatic. In addition to bright colours pigeons may sport crests or other ornamentation.

Distribution and habitat

The largest range of any species is that of the Rock Pigeon (formerly Rock Dove). The species had a large natural distribution from Britain and Ireland to northern Africa, across Europe, Arabia, Central Asia, India, the Himalayas and up into China and Mongolia. The range of the species increased dramatically upon domestication as the species went feral in cities around the world. The species is currently resident across most of North America, and has established itself in cities and urban areas in South America, sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The species is not the only pigeon to have increased its range due to actions of man, several other species have become established outside of their natural range after escaping captivity, and other species have increased their natural ranges due to habitat changes caused by human activities.

Diet

Seeds and fruit form the major component of the diet of pigeons and doves. In fact, the family can be divided into the seed eating or granivorous species (subfamily Columbinae) and the fruit eating or frugivorous species (the other four subfamilies). The granivorous typically feed on seed found on the ground, whereas the species that feed on fruit and mast tend to feed in trees. There are morphological adaptations that can be used to distinguish between the two groups, granivorous species tend to have thick walls in the gizzards, whereas the frugivores tend to have thin walls. In addition fruit eating species have short intestines whereas those that eat seeds have longer ones. Frugivores are capable of clinging to branches and even hang upside down in order to reach fruit.
In addition to fruit and seeds a number of other food items are taken by many species. Some species, particularly the ground-doves and quail-doves take a large number of prey items such as insects and worms. One species, the Atoll Fruit-dove is specialised in taking insect and reptile prey. Snails, moths and other insects are taken by White-crowned Doves, Orange Doves and Ruddy Ground Doves.

Systematics and evolution

This family is a highly coherent group with no members showing obvious links with other bird families, or vice versa. The dodo and solitaires are clearly related, as discussed below, but equally lacking in obvious links with other bird families. The limited fossil record also consists only of unequivocal Columbidae species. Links to the sandgrouse and parrots have been suggested, but resemblances to the first group are due to convergent evolution and the second depend on the parrot-like features of the Tooth-billed Pigeon. However, the distinctive features of that bird seem to have arisen from its specialized diet rather than a real relationship to the parrots.
The family is usually divided into five subfamilies, but this is probably inaccurate. For example, the American ground and quail doves which are usually placed in the Columbinae seem to be two distinct subfamilies. The order presented here follows Baptista et al. (1997) with some updates (Johnson & Clayton 2000, Johnson et al. 2001, Shapiro et al. 2002).
Note that the arrangement of genera and naming of subfamilies is in some cases provisional because analyzes of different DNA sequences yield results that differ, often radically, in the placement of certain (mainly Indo-Australian) genera. This ambiguity, probably caused by Long branch attraction, seems to confirm that the first pigeons evolved in the Australasian region, and that the "Treronidae" and allied forms (crowned and pheasant pigeons, for example) represent the earliest radiation of the group.
As the Dodo and Rodrigues Solitaire are in all likelihood part of the Indo-Australian radiation that produced the 3 small subfamilies mentioned above with the fruit-doves and -pigeons (including the Nicobar Pigeon), they are here included as a subfamily Raphinae, pending better material evidence of their exact relationships.
Exacerbating these issues, columbids are not well represented in the fossil record. No truly primitive forms have been found to date. The genus Gerandia which most likely belongs to the Columbinae has been described from Early Miocene deposits of France. Fragmentary remains of an indeterminate (probably "treronine") Early/Middle Miocene pigeon were found in New Zealand. Apart from that, all other fossils belong to extant genera. For these, and for the considerable number of more recently extinct prehistoric species, see the respective genus accounts.
A list of all the species, sortable by common and scientific name, is at list of Columbidae species

Subfamily Columbinae - typical pigeons & doves

Genus Columba including Aplopelia - Old World pigeons (33-34 living species, 2-3 recently extinct)
Genus Streptopelia including Stigmatopelia and Nesoenas - turtledoves (14-18 living species)
Genus Patagioenas - American pigeons; formerly included in Columba (17 species)
Genus Macropygia (10 species)
Genus Reinwardtoena (3 species)
Genus Turacoena (2 species)

Subfamily N.N. - Bronzewings and relatives

Genus Turtur - African wood-doves (5 species; tentatively placed here)
Genus Oena - Namaqua Dove (tentatively placed here)
Genus Chalcophaps (2 species)
Genus Henicophaps (2 species)
Genus Phaps (3 species)
Genus Ocyphaps - Crested Pigeon
Genus Geophaps (3 species)
Genus Petrophassa - rock-pigeons (2 species)
Genus Geopelia (3-5 species)

Subfamily Leptotilinae - Zenaidine and quail-doves

Genus Zenaida
Genus Ectopistes - Passenger Pigeon (extinct; 1914)
Genus Leptotila
Genus Geotrygon - quail-doves
Genus Starnoenas

Subfamily Columbininae - American ground doves

Genus Columbina
Genus Claravis
Genus Metriopelia
Genus Scardafella - possibly belongs into Columbina
Genus Uropelia

Subfamily N.N. - Indopacific ground doves

Genus Gallicolumba (16-17 living species, 3-4 recently extinct)
Genus Trugon

Subfamily Otidiphabinae - Pheasant Pigeon

Genus Otidiphaps - Pheasant Pigeon

Subfamily Didunculinae - Tooth-billed Pigeon

Genus Didunculus

Subfamily Gourinae - crowned pigeons

Genus Goura (3 species)

Subfamily N.N. ("Treroninae") - green and fruit-doves and imperial pigeons

Genus Ducula - imperial-pigeons
Genus Lopholaimus - Topknot Pigeon
Genus Hemiphaga
  • Kererū Hemiphaga novaseelandiae
  • Parea Hemiphaga chathamensis
Genus Cryptophaps
Genus Gymnophaps - mountain-pigeons
Genus Ptilinopus - fruit-doves (some 50 living species, 1-2 recently extinct)
Genus Natunaornis - Viti Levu Giant Pigeon (prehistoric)
Genus Drepanoptila
Genus Alectroenas - blue pigeons

Subfamily Raphinae - didines

Genus Raphus - Dodo (extinct; late 17th century)
Genus Pezophaps - Rodrigues Solitaire (extinct; c.1730)

Placement unresolved

Genus Caloenas
Genus Treron - green pigeons
Genus Phapitreron - brown doves
Genus Leucosarcia - Wonga Pigeon
Genus Microgoura - Choiseul Crested Pigeon (extinct; early 20th century)
Genus Dysmoropelia
Genus indeterminate
  • Henderson Island Archaic Pigeon, Columbidae gen. et sp. indet. (prehistoric)

Relationship with humans

Doves as food

Several species of pigeon or dove are used as food, and probably any could be; the powerful breast muscles characteristic of the family make excellent meat. In Europe the Wood Pigeon is commonly shot as a game bird, while Rock Pigeons were originally domesticated as a food species, and many breeds were developed for their meat-bearing qualities. The extinction of the Passenger Pigeon was at least partly due to shooting for use as food.

Doves in religion

According to the Tanakh, doves are kosher, and they are the only birds that may be used for a korban. Other kosher birds may be eaten, but not brought as a korban. In the New Testament a dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Threats and conservation

While many species of pigeons and doves have benefited from human activities and have increased their ranges, many other species have declined in numbers and some have become threatened or even succumbed to extinction. Amongst the 10 species that have become extinct since 1600 (the conventional date for estimating modern extinctions) are two of the most famous extinct species, the Dodo and the Passenger Pigeon. The Passenger Pigeon was exceptional for a number of reasons, along with being the only pigeon species to have gone extinct in modern times that was not an island species it was once the most numerous species of bird on Earth. Its former numbers are difficult to estimate but one ornithologist, Alexander Wilson, estimated that one flock he observed contained over two billion birds. The decline of the species was abrupt; in 1871 a breeding colony was estimated to contain over a hundred million birds, yet the last individual in the species was dead by 1914. Although habitat loss was a contributing factor, the species is thought to have been massively overhunted, being used as food for slaves and, later, the poor in the United States throughout the 19th century.
The Dodo, and its extinction, was more typical of the extinctions of pigeons in the past. Like many species that colonize remote islands with few predators it lost much of its anti-predator behaviour, along with its ability to fly. The arrival of people, along with a suite of other introduced species such as rats, pigs and cats, quickly spelt the end for this species and all the other island forms that have become extinct.
Around 59 species of pigeon and dove are threatened with extinction today, this is 19% of all species. Most of these are tropical and live on islands. All of the species threatened today are threatened by introduced predators, habitat loss and hunting, or a combination of these factors. In some cases they may be extinct in the wild, as is the Socorro Dove of Socorro Island, Mexico, which was driven to the edge of extinction by habitat loss and introduced feral cats. In some areas a lack of knowledge means that the true status of a species is unknown; the Negros Fruit Dove has not been seen since 1953 and may or may not be extinct, and the Polynesian Ground-dove is classified as critically endangered as it is unknown whether it survives or not on remote islands in the far west of the Pacific Ocean.
Various conservation techniques are employed in order to prevent these extinctions. These include laws and regulations in order to control hunting pressure, the establishment of protected areas to prevent further habitat loss, the establishment of captive populations for reintroduction back into the wild (ex situ conservation) and the translocation of individuals to suitable habitat to create additional populations.

See also

References

  • Baptista, L. F.; Trail, P. W. & Horblit, H. M. (1997): Order Columbiformes. In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors): Handbook of birds of the world, Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-22-9
  • Gibbs, Barnes and Cox, Pigeons and Doves (Pica Press 2001) ISBN 1-873403-60-7
  • Johnson, Kevin P. & Clayton, Dale H. (2000): Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genes Contain Similar Phylogenetic. Signal for Pigeons and Doves (Aves: Columbiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 14(1): 141–151. PDF fulltext
  • Johnson, Kevin P.; de Kort, Selvino; Dinwoodey, Karen, Mateman, A. C.; ten Cate, Carel; Lessells, C. M. & Clayton, Dale H. (2001): A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba. Auk 118(4): 874-887. PDF fulltext
  • Shapiro, Beth; Sibthorpe, Dean; Rambaut, Andrew; Austin, Jeremy; Wragg, Graham M.; Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R. P.; Lee, Patricia L. M. & Cooper, Alan (2002): Flight of the Dodo. Science 295: 1683. (HTML abstract) Supplementary information

Footnotes

External links

commons Columbidae
pigeon in Afrikaans: Duif
pigeon in Amharic: ርግብ
pigeon in Arabic: حمام (طير)
pigeon in Asturian: Palomba
pigeon in Guarani: Pykasu
pigeon in Aymara: Kitula
pigeon in Min Nan: Hún-chiáu
pigeon in Catalan: Colom (ocell)
pigeon in Czech: Holub
pigeon in Welsh: Colomen
pigeon in Danish: Due
pigeon in German: Tauben
pigeon in Modern Greek (1453-): Περιστέρι
pigeon in Spanish: Columbidae
pigeon in Esperanto: Kolombedoj
pigeon in Basque: Uso
pigeon in Persian: کبوتر
pigeon in French: Columbidae
pigeon in Scottish Gaelic: Calman
pigeon in Galician: Pomba
pigeon in Korean: 비둘기
pigeon in Ido: Kolombo
pigeon in Icelandic: Dúfur
pigeon in Italian: Columbidae
pigeon in Latin: Columba (avis)
pigeon in Lithuanian: Karveliniai
pigeon in Hungarian: Galambfélék
pigeon in Malayalam: പ്രാവ്
pigeon in Dutch: Duiven en tortels
pigeon in Dutch Low Saxon: Duve (voegel)
pigeon in Japanese: 鳩
pigeon in Norwegian: Duer
pigeon in Norwegian Nynorsk: Duefamilien
pigeon in Polish: Gołębiowate
pigeon in Portuguese: Columbidae
pigeon in Quechua: Irpa
pigeon in Russian: Голубиные
pigeon in Simple English: Dove
pigeon in Slovenian: Golobi
pigeon in Serbian: Голуб
pigeon in Finnish: Kyyhkyt
pigeon in Swedish: Duvor
pigeon in Tagalog: Kalapati
pigeon in Thai: นกพิราบ
pigeon in Vietnamese: Chim bồ câu
pigeon in Turkish: Güvercingiller
pigeon in Ukrainian: Голубині
pigeon in Zeeuws: Columbidae
pigeon in Samogitian: Balondis (paukštis)
pigeon in Chinese: 鸠鸽科

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

Cornish hen, avifauna, babe, baby bird, bamboozle, beat, beguile, beguile of, betray, bilk, bird, bird of Jove, bird of Juno, bird of Minerva, bird of night, bird of passage, bird of prey, birdie, birdlife, birdy, bluff, boob, broiler, bunco, burn, cage bird, caille, cajole, canard, caneton, capon, chapon, cheat, cheat on, chick, chicken, chisel, chouse, chouse out of, chump, cinch, circumvent, cog, cog the dice, con, conjure, cozen, credulous person, crib, cull, cygnet, deceive, defraud, delude, diddle, dindon, diving bird, do in, do out of, double-cross, dove, duck, duckling, dupe, eagle, eaglet, easy mark, easy pickings, euchre, faisan, fall guy, finagle, fish, fish-eating bird, flam, fledgling, fleece, flightless bird, flimflam, fob, fool, forestall, fowl, fruit-eating bird, fryer, fudge, fulmar, game bird, gammon, get around, gobe-mouches, goose, gouge, greener, greenhorn, greeny, grouse, gudgeon, guff, guinea hen, gull, gyp, have, hoax, hocus, hocus-pocus, hornswaggle, humbug, innocent, insect-eating bird, juggle, leadpipe cinch, let down, mark, migrant, migratory bird, mock, monkey, mulct, nestling, oie, oscine bird, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overreach, owl, pack the deal, partridge, passerine bird, patsy, peacock, peafowl, peahen, perching bird, pheasant, pigeonneau, play one false, plaything, poulet, practice fraud upon, prize sap, pushover, put something over, quail, ratite, roaster, rook, sap, saphead, scam, schlemiel, screw, sea bird, seed-eating bird, sell gold bricks, shave, shore bird, shortchange, sitting duck, snow, songbird, squab, stack the cards, stewing chicken, stick, sting, stooge, storm petrel, stormy petrel, string along, sucker, swan, swindle, take a dive, take in, thimblerig, throw a fight, toy, trick, trusting soul, turkey, two-time, victim, victimize, volaille, wading bird, warbler, water bird, waterfowl, wild duck, wildfowl
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