What are the bird species that are classed as Columbidae?

All the birds we know as pigeons or doves belong to the same family – Columbidae - with five species regularly found in the UK. But which is which and why do they get mistaken for each other? Keith Kirk explains how you can tell your wood pigeon from your feral pigeon, stock doves from collared doves, and wonders if we’ll ever see true rock doves and turtle doves again

Was it a pigeon or was it a dove you saw? The names ‘dove and ‘pigeon’ can be deceptive. Scientifically speaking, neither of them carry much merit. All the birds we know as either pigeons or doves belong to the same family – Columbidae - with five species regularly found in the UK (or six if you count the turtle dove, which is a very rare bird these days). The name dove is usually given to the smaller members of this family.

Stove Dove (Image: Keith Kirk) The stock dove is the nearest relation to the wood pigeon, more so than the collared dove and the feral pigeons found in our towns and cities, which are descended from rock doves. In fact, the birds we know as pigeons are often referred to as doves in other countries.

The most familiar to most people are feral pigeons; the birds you always see flocking in towns and cities, scrabbling after scraps of food, their markings and colours varying dramatically. Feral pigeons are the result of human intervention. We bred them from a wild ancestor, the rock dove, and, given the numbers of feral pigeons around these days - which interbreed with the wild ones - I wonder if there are any true rock doves left?

They were most likely first domesticated as a source of food and later for other reasons, such as racing and carrying messages in wartime. Overtime, these domesticated descendants have escaped and thrived in urban areas across our towns and cities. As feral pigeons spread, they bred with rock doves, which they are now gradually replacing.

Feral pigeons at their nest (Image: Keith Kirk) A true wild rock dove is now a rare sight indeed. Perhaps on the more remote islands where they should rarely meet feral pigeons, they might still exist. There might even be a few along the remoter parts of our coastline.

However, a true wild rock dove is virtually indistinguishable from the classic grey version of the feral pigeon, with their pale grey body, purple-green metallic flush on the neck, two neat black bars across their wings, and a white patch on the rump. If my memory serves me right from when I kept pigeons, they were referred to as Blue Bars. These similarities have made it tricky to monitor wild rock dove populations, with scientists now needing to gather DNA evidence to be certain that populations are genuine.

Wood pigeons are a common sight in pretty much any part of the UK, from farmland to urban parks and town gardens. If you have ever put out a birdfeeder, you’ve probably attracted a wood pigeon or two! These plump birds are our largest pigeon at around 40cm long and often weighing over 500 grams. Adults are grey with a vinous wash to the breast and a blue-grey head. One of their most distinctive features is an obvious white patch on each side of the neck. They have a yellow eye with a distinctive black teardrop pupil, and a red and yellow beak.

Wood Pigeon (Image: Keith Kirk) Pigeons are often overlooked by birdwatchers and wildlife photographers, so if you don’t pay close attention to our pigeons, then stock doves can easily go unnoticed. At a first glance they might look similar to the wood pigeon, but they are smaller and with a more even, blue-grey plumage. They also have very distinctive large dark eyes which give them a cuter appearance. However, the most obvious difference is the lack of any white on their neck. Instead, stock doves just have a beautiful, shimmering green patch. Scan through flocks of pigeons feeding on the ground and you may well spot a stock dove or two among them, as they are more common in our region than you might think.

Unlike wood pigeons which make a flimsy twig nest, stock doves are tree hole nesters and often spend some time in the tops of tall trees, hence they are easily overlooked. Good-sized tree holes can be hard to find, which sometimes brings them into conflict with jackdaws, owls, and other birds which nest in holes, even large nest boxes.

The only reference most of you will hear to turtle doves will be in the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Sadly, I think I have only ever seen one in our region, back in the late 1970s. These are a migratory species, spending the summer here in open countryside and flying to West Africa for the winter. Nowadays you are more likely to see one when you are on holiday, in places such as Spain.

Collared Dove (Image: Keith Kirk) In our garden collared doves are the most common pigeon and they have even been known to nest behind our satellite dish. Originating in South Asia, they have naturally spread west into Europe and were first recorded breeding in the UK in Norfolk in 1955. They have been so successful they can now be found breeding almost anywhere in the UK and Ireland. They are smaller than a wood pigeon with a pale grey and brown plumage, red eyes, and a black half-collar on the back of their neck.