Columbidae

Pigeons and doves have a variety of songs and calls that they use to find mates, signal danger, and defend territories. Males have special vocalizations that are only used in courtship and advertising. Both males and females sing; most songs are flute-like cooing noises that differ in the length of each note and in the interval between notes. Some species sound like a whistle, and others sound more like a croak. Small columbid species have higher-pitched calls than larger species. They will sometimes call in duets. Some species make quiet purring sounds that function in mate-bonding. Adults will respond to song playbacks. Young birds have begging calls and the results of cross-fostering experiments show that songs are innate and are not learned from their parents.

Pigeons and doves have a variety of courtship displays (see Reproduction: Mating Systems). They also have threat displays in which they spread and raise their wings and spread their tail. If the display does not work to repel and intruder, they will “buffet” with their wings or peck at the intruder.

Columbids are excellent navigators and use both the magnetic field of the planet and the position of the sun to find their way.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic

Other Communication Modes: duets

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical ; magnetic

Pigeons and doves are monogamous, and many have the same mate from year to year. They have numerous displays that are performed either on the ground or in the air. For example, while on the ground, males of some species squat, lift their tail, lower their head, twitch their wings and scratch the ground with their feet while calling. Some species have aerial displays that usually involve wing claps (most forest and ground living species do not have aerial displays). Aerial displays are used in courtship and to indicate territory boundaries. During a pre-copulation display, a male inflates his crop, bows, spreads his tail feathers, pirouettes and calls. This display varies among species, and birds with ornaments and colorful plumage usually show them off during the display. Some species of pigeons and doves also engage in courtship feeding and/or mate guarding.

Mating System: monogamous

Breeding is triggered by food availability and photoperiod and can be seasonal or year-round, depending on the species. Some columbids breed colonially, some solitarily. The males bring nest material to the females who build the nest. The nest is a platform or shallow cup of twigs and stems built on a crevice, cliff, tree or the ground. Columbids will re-use nests and will build nests on top of abandoned bird nests. Nest building usually lasts two to four days and nest sites are defended.

Clutch size is usually one to two eggs (occasionally three). Frugivorous species usually have only one egg; fruit is low in protein so the birds can not raise more than one chick. The eggs are white or buff colored and unmarked. Both males and females incubate, but females usually spend more time incubating than males. Species that live in the desert wet their stomach feathers before incubating to help cool the eggs by evaporation. Incubation lasts 11 to 30 days, and hatching can be either synchronous or asynchronous. Chicks are altricial and are fed by both parents. Chicks fledge in 10 to 36 days (earlier if disturbed) and may continue to receive food from their parents for 30 to 40 days.

Breeding pairs can have up to five broods in one breeding season. Their short breeding cycle allows pigeons and doves to have more broods to compensate for their small brood sizes and relatively high rates of predation. Fledglings grow their adult plumage a few months after fledging and reach sexual maturity in 6 to 12 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous

Both males and females incubate, but females usually spend more time incubating than males. Species that live in the desert wet their stomach feathers before incubating to help cool the eggs by evaporation. Incubation lasts 11 to 30 days. Chicks are altricial and are fed by both parents. The chicks are usually fed crop-milk for three to four days and are then fed seeds and fruit, however, some continue to be fed crop-milk even after they have fledged. Crop-milk is made in the crop of the adult birds and is 75 to 77 percent water, 11 to 13 percent protein, 5 to 7 percent fat and 1.2 to 1.8 percent minerals and amino acids. Nestling pigeons and doves grow rapidly because of the crop-milk. Chicks fledge in 10 to 36 days (earlier if disturbed) and may continue to receive food from their parents for 30 to 40 days.

Parental Investment: altricial ; male parental care ; female parental care

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Because they feed on cultivated grain, columbids are often thought of as crop pests. They are also pests in urban areas where they nest in man-made structures and their droppings can be a nuisance. They are also known to carry human disease.

Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease); crop pest; household pest