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Birds

Birds

Common name Rock dove
Scientific name Columba livia
Type Urban birds
Status Resident

The wild species is a medium-sized bird (about 34 cm or 13.5 in). Compact appearance, small head; very variable plumage, from grey to brown tones. Black wing bands and white rump. Greenish or purple shine on the neck. Lighter shades in the ventral area. The wild species is often hybridized with domestic varieties, so that very different colouring patterns appear.

Habitats

Urban and rocky environments

Where it lives

Rupicolous species present in rocky areas, either coastal cliffs, river screes or mountain gorges. The domestic varieties use all kinds of humanized and urban environments, grasslands, pastures and crops.

How it lives

Bird resident all year round in the province. It breeds in spring, although it is able to breed throughout the whole year. The laying consists of 2 eggs. Feeding based on seeds, herbs and buds. The domestic varieties also take advantage of waste and remains of food produced by man. The chicks are fed a milky secretion popularly known as "pigeon milk" that parents generate in the crop. They are gregarious and colonial birds.

Where it can be seen in Malaga

Common and frequent species throughout the Great Path.

Curious facts

The dove has traditionally been used as a symbol of peace or ideals of purity. This is due to the biblical episode in which Noah launched a dove after the flood to look for land and it returned with an olive branch, in sign that God is at peace with man. However, doves and pigeons are birds that by their gregarious and alimentary habits act as important vectors of transmission of unhealthy conditions in villages and cities.

Present
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wintering Summer Resident Migration
Audios