Different Breeds of Common Pigeons

There are many different species of pigeons in this world and some of them we may not even know of. Most of them are already explored and existent and only a very few of them happen to be extinct or endangered. Pigeons are perhaps one of the most prevalent creatures on earth and they belong to the family of birds which is one of the reasons why they thrive throughout time in longevity and are hard to perish; as birds can freely fly in the air becoming less prone to the dangers that beset the grounds. However, there are times when a lot of them are hunted down. This is the reason why one species of pigeons became extinct: the passenger pigeons. Passenger pigeons were hunted down for their meat and hunted down massively; an entire area of passenger pigeons could be wiped out in just one hunting season. Eventually, their species dwindled in numbers until it reached a point that they no longer have a viable population, and its last remnant perished sometime around early 1900's. This kind of thing could happen to all other species of pigeons that live today, especially those that are already enlisted as extinct species.

No pigeon or any other bird species on the planet is safe from human greed. As long as humans will continue to have purpose for some things they find useful, like pigeons for meat, they will always continue to hunt down the poor species. Fortunately, the legislation of bird protection laws came to be and have now implemented certain rules and regulations in the prevalence of hunting down pigeon meat as well as other bird meats. Species protection protocols are now at hand and multitude of pigeons are now well safeguarded from the clutches of poaching. However, there are still instances that these rules prove to be insufficient as there are still those that find their way around the enforcements of the law. As a result, they continue to kill rampantly endangering more species of pigeon on earth. It is now your burden as an individual person to stop this kind of things from happening. You, as a human being have the moral obligation to protect the many different species of pigeons from sheer destruction by your own kind. Oftentimes, you yourself are held responsible for the deaths of a few of them by your own unintentional ways, such as your approaches to pigeon control methods. Sometimes, there are setbacks to these methods that lead to the utter harm of these pigeons and even you kill some of them unintentionally.

Pigeons may have to be controlled as they often become pests by their sheer numbers, but they don't deserve to be killed by the methods and devices we use to control them. They only have to be relocated to their proper habitat at most as their sanction for infringing human territories and never to die in any way deliberate at all.

One way to do about protecting and safeguarding the pigeon species in the planet is to know more about them and getting to know the different species that you get to encounter most of the time.

Here are some of the most common types of pigeons human usually encounter:

Columba Oenas (Stock Dove)

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Stock doves are endemic species of pigeons in U.S. and may look pretty much alike their relatives the wood pigeons. However, there are certain highly distinguishable traits that would enable us to identify them from the latter. Traits such as their relatively smaller sizes and the absence of white areas in the wings and in the necks make them different from wood pigeons. However, their size is somewhat the same to another family of pigeons called the Rock Doves apart from the brown pale rump and semi-bold wing bars which are not found in Stock Doves. Their plumage is somewhat grey and somehow paler underneath. A ruddy tinge on its breast area it also has a purples sheen on the neck. There are also two identical bars short at the base of its wings that also happens to have black border on its upper part and as well as to its tail. The bill of a stock dove is yellowish but turns red to the base. Their feet are colored deep pink.

This species of pigeons are not that dominant and prevalent compared to the wood pigeons and they are fairly populated in certain habitats which are absent at the far north areas. Their species is often overlooked along with other pigeons. This species is not that much of a pest to humans compared to a wood pigeon can be. Its main diet is on weed seeds.

Columbia Livia (Rock Dove/Feral Pigeons)

Did you know that Rock doves are actually being kept as food and is quite popular during the middle ages? They are also resident to European territory. But a lot of them are able to escape from the devecotes and thus their descendants of feral pigeons commonly found in city squares, streets and sometimes in railways stations. The feral pigeons we now see today can actually be still interbred with rock doves at present. The rock doves are actually considered as the wild forebear of a modern "domestic or homing" pigeon. This would include other species of pigeons of the same family such as fantails, black and whites, tumblers, chequers and racers.

The true or pure rock doves can now be only found in rocky appendices and cliffs of northern Scotland and Ireland. The rock doves that you see on inland cliffs are actually derived breeds and are domesticated which also eventually became wild or feral. They make noticeably untidy or gruel nests in the cliffs and caves and they lay eggs in intervals throughout the entire year.

There are still other species that are not yet mentioned in this article. They will however be discussed in a follow up article after this. The other species are less common though, but they are still worth recognizing.