Rock Pigeon

• It is the wild ancestor of every domestic and homing pigeon in the world.
• Both the male and the female produce crop milk, a secretion rich in fat and protein.
• It can raise as many as 6 broods a year.
• inteligenciaIt can recognise letters of the alphabet and tell paintings by different artists apart in laboratory experiments.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Rocky cliffs in the wild; widely adapted to towns and cities around the world

Birth weight

15.2 grams at hatching

Size at birth

Blind and thinly downed on hatching; fed on crop milk regurgitated by both parents

Sexual maturity

~4.5 months (140 days)

Gestation / incubation

17-19 days

Litter / clutch size

1 to 3 eggs per clutch (2 most often), up to 6 broods a year

Life expectancy in captivity

Documented record of 35 years in captivity

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info) · NHPBS NatureWorks · Birds of the World · BioKIDS · American Pest Control · Rock Pigeon (tsusinvasives.org)