Columba livia J.F. Gmelin, 1789

This is the commonest of the pigeons. It is slaty-grey in colour, with a wide band of metallic, glistening green and purple on its neck and upper breast. The grey tail has a dark terminal band, and there are two similar but narrower bands on the wings. In its wild state the rock pigeon is still found in flocks and colonies on cliffs and rocky hills, but it is more familiar as a domesticated and semi-feral bird living close to humans in villages, towns and cities. Its favourite urban haunts include old and disused buildings, railway stations and grain warehouses. Flocks feed on cereals, pulses, groundnuts etc., and can cause considerable damage to newly sown crops. However, they enjoy a certain amount of protection and are tolerated in temples and mosques. Its call is a deep gootr-goo, gootr-goo, uttered by the male with its head bowed and throat puffed out, while it turns round and round in its courtship or aggressive display.

Columba livia livia, the nominate subspecies, occurs in western and southern Europe, northern Africa, and Asia to western Kazakhstan, the northern Caucasus, Georgia, Cyprus, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Columba livia atlantis (Bannerman, 1931) of Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde, is a very variable population with chequered upperparts obscuring the black wingbars, and is almost certainly derived from feral pigeons. Columba livia canariensis (Bannerman, 1914) of the Canary Islands, is smaller and averages darker than the nominate subspecies. Columba livia gymnocyclus (Gray, 1856) from Senegal and Guinea to Ghana, Benin and Nigeria is smaller and very much darker than nominate Columba livia livia. It is almost blackish on the head, rump and underparts with a white back and the iridescence of the nape extending onto the head. Columba livia targia (Geyr von Schweppenburg, 1916) breeds in the mountains of the Sahara east to Sudan. It is slightly smaller than the nominate form, with similar plumage, but the back is concolorous with the mantle instead of white. Columba livia dakhlae (Richard Meinertzhagen, 1928) is confined to the two oases in central Egypt. It is smaller and much paler than the nominate subspecies. Columba livia schimperi (Bonaparte, 1854) is found in the Nile Delta south to northern Sudan. It closely resembles Columba livia targia, but has a distinctly paler mantle. Columba livia palaestinae (Zedlitz, 1912) occurs from Syria to Sinai and Arabia. It is slightly larger than Columba livia schimperi and has darker plumage. Columba livia gaddi (Zarodney & Looudoni, 1906), breeds from Azerbaijan and Iran east to Uzbekistan is larger and paler than Columba livia palaestinae with which it intergrades in the west. It also intergrades with the next subspecies to the east. Columba livia neglecta (Hume, 1873), is found in the mountains of eastern Central Asia. It is similar to the nominate subspecies in size, but is darker with a stronger and more extensive iridescent sheen on the neck. It intergrades with the next race in the south. Columba livia intermedia (Strickland, 1844) occurs in Sri Lanka and in India south of the Himalayan range of Columba livia neglecta. It is similar to that subspecies, but darker with a less contrasting back. Columba livia nigricans (Buturlin, 1908) in Mongolia and northern China is variable and probably derived from feral pigeons.

29 to 37 cm (11 to 15 in) long, 62 to 72 cm (24 to 28 in) wingspan, weight: 180–360 g. The wing chord is typically around 22.3 cm (8.8 in), the tail is 9.5 to 11 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in), the bill is around 1.8 cm (0.71 in) and the tarsus is 2.6 to 3.5 cm (1.0 to 1.4 in).

Seen in open country with cliffs and rocky hills. Mostly seen in semi domesticated condition, living as a commensal of man.

IUCN Redlist Status: Least Concern