Bar-shouldered Dove vs Rock Pigeon
Geopelia humeralis compared with Columba livia
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Bar-shouldered Dove | Rock Pigeon |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Geopelia humeralis | Columba livia |
| Order | Columbiformes | Columbiformes |
| Family | Columbidae | Columbidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | 33.0 cm (13.0 in) |
| Wingspan | 27.6 cm (10.9 in) | 68.0 cm (26.8 in) |
| Weight | 128.66666666666666 g (4.54 oz) | 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 | 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
Bar-shouldered Dove
Soft, gentle cooing with bar-shouldered warmth; pure notes echoing through Australian mangrove habitat.
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
Bar-shouldered Dove
Rock Pigeon
Native to Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Feral populations on every continent except Antarctica.
Conservation Status
Bar-shouldered Dove
Rock Pigeon
How to Tell Them Apart
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bare-faced Ground Dove (Aymara): bare yellow facial skin; gray-brown above; pale below; iridescent wing spots; Andean 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
Bar-shouldered Dove
Medium-small dove, 26–30 cm, pale brown with a scaly pattern on the neck and upper back, a blue-grey face, and long tail. Inhabits dense vegetation along streams, mangroves, and forest edges in northern and eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. Granivore of seeds. Least Concern.
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.