Rock dove

The rock dove (Columba livia) is a pigeon native to Eurasia and North Africa and the wild ancestor of domestic pigeons. Wild populations commonly nest on cliffs and rocky ledges.

Columbidae: The bird family comprising pigeons and doves, including more than 300 species. Rock doves belong to this family, whose shared traits include stout bodies and strong flight.
Domestic pigeon: The domesticated form of the rock dove, bred into many varieties for practical and ornamental purposes. Domestic pigeons descend from rock doves and retain the species' basic body plan.
Columbidae evolution: The evolutionary history and diversification of the pigeon and dove family. This broader history places the rock dove among the many lineages of Columbidae.
Rock dove plumage: The range of feather colors and patterns found among rock doves and their domestic descendants. Wild-type birds commonly show a blue-gray body, two dark wing bars, and iridescent neck feathers.
Columba: A genus of medium-to-large pigeons found across much of the world. The rock dove is one species in this genus.
Homing pigeon: A domestic pigeon bred and trained to return to its home loft from unfamiliar locations. Rock dove ancestry underlies the homing ability used in pigeon messaging and navigation studies.
Domestication of animals: The process by which humans shape animal populations through breeding and long-term association. Selective breeding of rock doves produced domestic pigeons over thousands of years.
Barbary dove: A small domesticated dove, also called the ringneck dove, belonging to a different species from the rock dove. Despite the shared word “dove,” it is not the rock dove or its domestic form.
Pigeon: A common name for birds in the family Columbidae, often used especially for larger species. The rock dove is the wild pigeon species behind familiar domestic forms.
Pigeon post: A communication system that carries written messages by trained homing pigeons. The rock dove's domesticated descendants made reliable long-distance message delivery possible.

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