Bonin Woodpigeon vs Rock Pigeon
Columba versicolor compared with Columba livia
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Bonin Woodpigeon | Rock Pigeon |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Columba versicolor | Columba livia |
| Order | Columbiformes | Columbiformes |
| Family | Columbidae | Columbidae |
| Conservation Status | Extinct | Least Concern |
| Length | — | 33.0 cm (13.0 in) |
| Wingspan | — | 68.0 cm (26.8 in) |
| Weight | — | 300.0 g (10.58 oz) |
| Diet | -- | Seeds, grain, fruit, and human food scraps. Primarily a ground feeder. Feral birds are heavily … |
| Clutch Size | -- | 2 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Rock Pigeon
Originally cliff-nesting in Mediterranean regions. Now the quintessential urban bird, inhabiting cities worldwide on every continent.
Song & Call Comparison
Bonin Woodpigeon
Deep, mournful cooing with hollow quality; slow resonant notes of Bonin woodpigeon once echoing through forest.
Rock Pigeon
Soft, rhythmic cooing 'roo-c'too-coo' repeated multiple times, with emphasis on second syllable. Male courtship coo is deeper and more persistent. Wing-clapping on takeoff is loud.
Geographic Range & Migration
Bonin Woodpigeon
Rock Pigeon
Native to Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Feral populations on every continent except Antarctica.
Conservation Status
Bonin Woodpigeon
Rock Pigeon
How to Tell Them Apart
Bonin Woodpigeon
Bonin Woodpigeon: extinct; dark above; iridescent neck gloss; pale below; Bonin islands; known from specimens only; lost species
Rock Pigeon
Wild-type has a blue-grey body with iridescent green and purple neck feathers, two black wing bars, and a white rump. Feral populations show enormous color variation.
Slender dark bill with a white fleshy cere at the base
About These Birds
Bonin Woodpigeon
Bonin Woodpigeon (Columba versicolor) — ~45 cm. Extinct. Inhabited Nakodo-jima and Chichi-jima in the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands, Japan. Dark iridescent plumage; last recorded in 1889. Driven to extinction by hunting and habitat clearance following colonisation of the islands.
Rock Pigeon
The rock pigeon is the ancestor of all domestic pigeon breeds and one of the most abundant birds in cities worldwide. Pigeons have served humans as messengers, food, and subjects for scientific research — their homing ability and vision have been studied extensively. Darwin's study of pigeon breeding contributed to his theory of evolution.