The rock dove is the most common pigeon species. The habitats in ancient times were the north of Africa, the South and the Center of Europe. Over time, the species began to be domesticated and spread to all parts of the world.
Dove
Exterior
The rock pigeon breed is divided into:
- wild individuals;
- synanthropic representatives, that is, those that live and nest in the immediate vicinity of a person.
For pigeons living in urban conditions, a wide variety of colors is characteristic. The external description of the Dove is as follows:
- body length is 30-36 cm;
- body weight - about 370 g, with good contentment in urban conditions it can be more;
- the eyes can be golden or red;
- beak with a slightly blunt tip, medium length;
- the feather is thick, attached to the upper layer of the skin, therefore it often falls off;
- the plumage is gray with a purple, greenish or metallic sheen.
For wild individuals, a lighter color of plumage is characteristic. There is a black stripe on the wings. Synanthropic individuals have a more varied color, among them there are chocolate, blue, white-tailed, snow-white birds. Both varieties are distinguished by the unusual structure of the auricles hidden under the feathers. Thanks to this structure, pigeons can hear sounds that people don’t hear.
The wild rock pigeon prefers to live on rocky cliffs, so it is very rare to see it on tree branches. Synanthropic birds are more adapted to the branches, but they still more often walk on the ground or sit on roofs and all kinds of cornices. When the Rock Pigeon moves on foot, it moves its head back and forth to concentrate its vision. Visually, a pigeon can distinguish almost any color.
The gray dove is a great flyer. It can reach speeds of about 100 km / h. The bird rises into the air vertically. It is perfectly oriented in space, capable of flying home from a distance of tens of thousands of kilometers.
Features of behavior and habitat
For wild birds, the characteristic habitat is the open area, rocky cliffs, steppes. In African countries, they can often be found on desert oases. The territory of distribution of the wild blue dove is the northern part of Africa, just above the Sahara, South and Center of Europe, Asia.
Semi-domesticated birds settle in a wider area. They can be found anywhere in the world. For nesting places, attics and abandoned construction sites, uncrowded and quiet places where predators have no access are selected.
In natural habitat, the enemies of the Dove are birds from the order of hawks, owls and owls. Nests are often ruined by ferrets, martens, lynxes, and a pigeon can also be caught by a fox or raccoon. For urban residents, cats, crows, jackdaws, and rats are in danger. The need to constantly be on the alert and the ability to distinguish sounds inaccessible to other ears made the pigeon's dream very sensitive. At the slightest danger, they immediately wake up and take off.
The pigeon can migrate over short distances. When it gets colder, he moves to where it is warmer. In cold areas it descends from the mountains to the lowlands. In urban conditions, with the onset of cold weather, it moves closer to human housing or garbage dumps.
Dove Dove is rather strongly attached to its home. In a familiar place, he can breed chicks for several years in a row. This feature became beneficial to humans when they began to use pigeon mail. Birds often live in twos, but they form flocks for food.
What eat
The gray pigeon is absolutely not a whimsical bird in choosing food. This is due to the fact that there are very few taste buds in its mouth. Most of the diet is based on plant food. The bird eats beetles and midges only by accident when pecking grains and bread from the ground. Wild sisari feed on the seeds of various plants. Often flock in flocks of wheat, corn fields. They also like to eat fruits and berries.
Semi-domestic pigeons often feed on garbage. Birds fly to the city dumps and get their own food there. Often people feed them with seeds and bread crumbs. If you bring food to the same place for a couple of days in a row, then soon they themselves will begin to arrive at this place at the appointed time. They have excellent memory.
Rock pigeons form flocks in search of food. They do not have a clear order, so the flock easily disintegrates and a new one is formed. Even in a flock, birds are often kept in pairs. Watching them, you can see that the dove and the dove share food with each other and do not let other pigeons get too close to themselves.
Reproduction
A pair for creating a pigeon family is formed once and for all. The beginning of the mating season falls on the last days of February – early March. The pigeon first finds a place for the nest, and then searches for a pigeon. A pair often consists of birds with approximately the same temperament.
Those who have heard at least once how the male cooed will never confuse these sounds with anything. Through its voice, the dove conveys a message of its intentions to the dove. In addition, the male fluffs the tail, performs a kind of mating dance. However, the final choice lies with the female. No matter how much the male cooes, if he does not like the pigeon, she will never pair with him.
Brutal life: secrets of pigeon breeding
Courtship procedure
At the courtship ceremony, all the work is done by the male. The task of the female is only to appreciate the gentleman and agree to form a pair or reject an unlucky partner. Pigeons do not have instant pairing, the beginning of the process is preceded by a mating ceremony. For some time the male circled over his girlfriend, chasing her everywhere.
The male feathers feathers in the neck. The dove tilts its head to the ground and spreads its wings. Often performs an upright stance, stretching out on the paws and fanning the tail. Such a dance accompanies cooing all the time.
After the female accepts the courtship of the partner, they become a couple officially, show this by their behavior when they are in the flock. They very carefully clean feathers for each other, touch their beaks.
Nesting grounds
When a pair is formed, the pigeon with special zeal protects the territory where the nest is located, as well as its female. If another male appears, he tries to close the chosen one and take her away from him. The most aggressive fights with strangers.
Females of this breed are always tied to one partner. Even when a bird is stolen or crossed with another male, it will still return to its old mate. The couple makes the nest together. The female sits and dutifully waits for the partner to bring her material for the nest, which she then carefully stacks and forms the house.
Offspring Care
After 2 weeks after mating, the female lays an egg, after a couple of days - the second. The size of the eggs is about 2 cm. The color of the shell can be blue or beige. The Doves of Sizya hatch their chicks in turn. Often there is a pigeon in the nest during the day, and a dove at night. Mom spends more time in the nest.
The pigeon sits on the eggs so that the female has the opportunity to eat. If she lingers too long, he makes characteristic sounds, urging her to return to the nest. Chicks are born with a difference of 10 to 48 hours. After birth, they emit a quiet squeak. Chicks are born without plumage, therefore they need constant heating.
The first 25 days, the chicks feed on bird milk, which is produced in goiter by both parents. From day 25, soaked grains are added to the diet. Feeding with milk can last 1.5-2 months. Often during this period, the female begins to incubate the next chicks. If the pigeon is already sitting on the eggs, the male continues to feed the previous pigeons on his own.
Pigeons leave the nest on the 45th day. At this point, their appearance is almost the same as that of sexually mature individuals. For the period from the beginning of the mating season to the end of summer, a couple can give birth to up to 8 broods. Everything will depend on the environment in which the family lives and on the availability and quality of feed. In an urban environment, the Gray pigeon lives for 3 years, in conditions of home keeping, their age reaches 15 years.
Impact on human life
This type of bird warns of danger and can be useful in many aspects of human life. So, for example, at a time when there was absolutely no communication, the Gray pigeon was used by man as a mail. Pigeons are perfectly oriented in space, so they always return to the house.
Today, these birds are used in rescue operations. Birds make a corresponding sound when they come across a yellow vest, or circle over the place where a lost person is found. Pigeons are very intelligent creatures, so they can be easily trained and trained.
Doves were the first domesticated representatives. They tamed the wild cisar 5000 years ago. It is he who is considered the progenitor of all subsequent domestic breeds. After domestication, they began to grow for the purpose of obtaining meat, eggs and feathers.
The first notes on the abilities of the sisars were in the Bible: Noah sends a dove in search of land. After the bird became a symbol of peace.
Breeding
To breed blue pigeons at home, you need to build a poultry house. The difference of the breed lies in the unpretentiousness in the choice of feed. However, this fact does not mean that pigeons can be left to feed on their own. A beautiful feather and tasty meat can only be obtained in the conditions of proper care and feeding with a balanced feed.
Pigeons are very weak immunity, therefore, in order to avoid infection with infectious diseases, they should be vaccinated. Pigeons can be carriers of many ailments that are dangerous to humans. Cleanliness and timely ventilation of the premises in which pigeons live is the key to good health of pets. Also, the room should maintain optimal temperature and humidity so that birds can develop normally. There must be a free range.
Interesting Facts
This breed possesses such a feature as homing. This is the ability to return home from any distance. These birds can stay in the air for a long time. The record holder for returning home from a long distance is the beauty dove of Brazil. She flew 41.5 km.
If you blindfold the bird, it will stop shaking its head back and forth and navigate the terrain. Descriptions of pigeons are found in historical sources much more often than about other bird representatives.
Final part
To date, there are practically no regions and countries in which there would be no Blue Doves. This breed was tamed 5,000 years ago. Used to obtain meat, eggs and fluff. Man was one of the first to tame these birds. It is believed that the rest of the domestic pigeon breeds were selected from them. The species got its name for the color of plumage, in which the bluish colors with green, blue and metallic tinge predominate. A wild relative has a lighter color than a semi-domestic one.
In human life, the bird has played an ambiguous role. They were used not only to get meat, but also in pigeon mail. Today they continue to be used in various search operations. This breed is distinguished by an inquisitive mind and endurance. Its representatives are able to return home from very large distances. They develop a flight speed of over 100 km / h.