Stock Dove
A species of Old World Pigeons Scientific name : Columba oenas Genus : Old World Pigeons
Stock Dove, A species of Old World Pigeons
Botanical name: Columba oenas
Genus: Old World Pigeons
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Photo By Mike Pennington , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Description
The genus Columba in the pigeon family, and has the widest distribution. Its members are typically pale grey or brown, often with white head or neck markings or iridescent green or purple patches on the neck and breast. The neck feathers may be stiffened and aligned to form grooves, but these are absent in this species. The stock dove is less grey in plumage than other pigeons in Europe. The three western European Columba pigeons, though alike, have very distinctive characteristics. The wood pigeon may be readily distinguished by its large size, as well as the white on its neck (in adults) and wings. The rock pigeon and stock dove are more alike in size and plumage, but wild specimens of the former have a white rump and two well-marked dark bars on the wing, while the rump of the stock dove is grey and its wing bars incomplete. The feral pigeon (the same species as rock pigeon) is highly variable, and indistinctly marked grey specimens with the white rump missing can sometimes resemble the stock dove quite closely. The stock dove is sociable as well as gregarious, often consorting with wood pigeons, though doubtless it is the presence of food which brings them together. The short, deep, "grunting" Ooo-uu-ooh call is quite distinct from the modulated cooing notes of the wood pigeon; it is loud enough to be described, somewhat fancifully, as "roaring".
Size
34 cm
Colors
Brown
Green
Gray
Life Expectancy
13 years
Feeding Habits
Stock Dove primarily consumes plant material, including young shoots, seedlings, grain, acorns, and pine seeds. It forages for berries, figs, cereal grains, beans, peas, and small invertebrates on the ground. During autumn migration, stock Dove's diet is supplemented with acorns and foliage.
Habitat
The stock Dove inhabits generally open country, often amidst agricultural lands and border regions between forest and open terrain where old trees provide nesting hollows. It favors temperate, boreal, and Mediterranean zones within the broader geographical regions of upper and middle latitudes, occasionally bordering into steppe areas. Primarily found in lowlands, the stock Dove occurs at elevations up to 500 m, sometimes extending to 1000 m or more. In North Africa, it can be found in pine, oak, and cedar forests at altitudes of 1000–2300 m.
Dite type
Granivorous
People often ask
General Info
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Photo By Mike Pennington , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Pigeons and doves Family
Dove Genus
Old World Pigeons Species
Stock Dove