Feral Pigeon

Unnoticed biodiversity

Identification

Common name: Feral Pigeon
Latin name: Columba livia
Length: 32 cm
Distinguishing features: numerous plumage variants (white, reddish-grey, dark), as populations frequently descend from domestic pigeons that went wild, escaping or being released from pigeon houses.
Habitat: natural cliffs for the wild populations (in Corsica, for instance); buildings in urban areas
Diet: seeds, plant matter; opportunistic
Status: Least Concern in the Ile-de-France region
Nesting period: nearly year-round, except winter

Seen in the garden

The lawns of the Grand Carré sometimes draw a large number of Feral Pigeons and Common Wood Pigeons.

Here, they find plants and seeds that comprise most of their diet.

Feral Pigeon - typical song then wing fluttering and cooing while feeding

Audio

1 min.

Did you know?

Homing pigeons, the same species of bird, have been used since antiquity to carry messages. They were notably used during the Prussian siege of Paris in 1870, and during both world wars.
The Mont Valérien fortress, west of Paris, houses the last military dovecote in Europe.

<= Discover The Blue Tit // Discover The Common Wood Pigeon =>