Columba

Feral Pigeons in winter

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae Genus: Columba Linnaeus, 1758

Species

Some 30-35, see text.

 

The large bird genus Columba comprises a group of medium to large stout-bodied pigeons, often referred to as the typical pigeons.

As with other genera in the family, the terms dove and pigeon are used interchangeably, although smaller species are more likely to be called doves. The species commonly referred to just as the "pigeon" is the feral Rock Pigeon.

Most species in this genus are found in the Old World, but there are a few representatives in the Americas, and some species, notably the Feral Pigeon, have been introduced outside their natural range.

The American species of Columba should be split off as a separate genus, Patagioenas, as it was done by the American Ornithological Union. That the American radiation constitutes a distinct lineage is borne out by molecular evidence (e.g. Johnson et al., 2001)

Species remaining in Columba are:

• Rock Pigeon, Columba livia
• Domestic and feral pigeons, Columba livia domestica
• Stock Pigeon, Columba oenas
• Trocaz Pigeon, Columba trocaz
• Bolle's Pigeon, Columba bollii
• Laurel Pigeon, Columba junoniae
• Hill Pigeon, Columba rupestris
• Snow Pigeon, Columba leuconota
• Speckled Pigeon, Columba guinea
• White-collared Pigeon, Columba albitorques
• Pale-backed Pigeon, Columba eversmanni
• Somali Pigeon, Columba oliviae
• Wood Pigeon or Common Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus

Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus

• Madeiran Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus maderensis - extinct (early 20th century)
• Afep Pigeon, Columba unicincta
• African Olive Pigeon, Columba arquatrix
• Cameroon Olive Pigeon, Columba sjostedti
• Sao Tome Olive Pigeon, Columba thomensis
• Comoro Olive Pigeon, Columba polleni
• Speckled Woodpigeon, Columba hodgsonii
• White-naped Pigeon, Columba albinucha
• Ashy Woodpigeon, Columba pulchricollis
• Nilgiri Woodpigeon, Columba elphinstonii
• Sri Lanka Woodpigeon, Columba torringtoni
• Pale-capped Pigeon, Columba punicea
• Silvery Pigeon, Columba argentina - possibly extinct (mid-late 20th century?)
• Andaman Woodpigeon, Columba palumboides
• Japanese Woodpigeon, Columba janthina
• Ogasawara Japanese Woodpigeon, Columba janthina nitens - extinct (1980s)
• Bonin Woodpigeon, Columba versicolor - extinct (c.1890)
• Ryukyu Woodpigeon, Columba jouyi - extinct (late 1930s)
• Metallic Pigeon or White-throated Pigeon, Columba vitiensis
• Lord Howe Metallic Pigeon, Columba vitiensis godmanae - extinct (1853)
• Tongan Metallic Pigeon, Columba vitiensis ssp. - extinct (late 18th century); validity doubtful
• White-headed Pigeon, Columba leucomela
• Yellow-legged Pigeon, Columba pallidiceps
• Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, Columba delegorguei
• Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Columba iriditorques
• Sao Tome Bronze-naped Pigeon, Columba malherbii
• African Lemon-dove, Columba larvata
• Sao Tome Lemon-dove, Columba simplex

A fossil species, Columba omnisanctorum, was described from the Neogene of the Gargano Peninsula, Italy.

 

References

• 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.