Volume 45, Number 2, December 1998:
Feral Pigeons

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
- about KSN
- about the author

IN THIS ISSUE
- introduction
- origin of feral pigeons
- basic plumages
- mate choice and plumages
- advantages of different plumages
- advantages of choosing different mates
- breeding seasons
- reproducative data
- brood reduction
- living in colonies
- commuter pigeons
- relationships with people
- reference

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Updated: March 9, 2005
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Feral Pigeons
by Richard F. Johnston

INTRODUCTION

Rock doves are also called street pigeons, barnyard pigeons, or feral pigeons, and are known by the scientific name Columba livia. They arrived in North America with European settlers in the 17th-century. They came as domestic birds, caged and maintained for their use at the kitchen table. Individuals periodically escaped confinement, and although most escapes could not survive in the wild, some did. Their descendants today are called feral ("wild") pigeons, and they are among the most familiar of birds in Kansas, North America, or indeed the world. Ferals have a complicated ancestry that includes not only domestic pigeons but the wild ancestors of domestics as well. The natural history of today's feral pigeons involves an enormous range of biology stemming from this ancient and complex genealogy. This account examines the various aspects of feral pigeon biology.