Columba livia Pigeon Skull Aves Columbiformes Columbidae

Description

Origin : Italy

Size : cm 5.5

Rock Pigeon Skull Columba livia cm 5.5 Aves Columbiformes Columbidae, complete of Mandible, only a piece, as in photos.
Family: Columbidae (columbus, dove, pigeon).
Common name: Rock Dove, Rock Pigeon or Common Pigeon.

The western wild pigeon (Columba livia, Gmelin, 1789) is a species of very widespread columbid, for centuries also called the domestic pigeon as it evolved together with man, thus becoming the domestic pigeon. From Columba livia domestica, which includes passenger pigeons and numerous breeds, descend the semi-wild pigeons spread throughout almost the whole world, especially in large cities. The wild form is closely related to the eastern rock pigeon (Columba rupestris) and the snow pigeon (Columba leuconota)
The bird is 30–35 cm long with a wingspan of 62–68 cm. The lifespan of a common pigeon varies from 3 to 5 years in the wild, but can reach up to 15 years for domesticated breeds.
It is not easy to distinguish the two sexes, only when they are together can one observe the typical behavior of the male courting the female, who is often slightly smaller in stature. The couple incubates two white eggs, alternating for 21 days: in the morning and in the afternoon. the female at night, the male in the afternoon. The newborns are fed by the couple for the first 5 days with a kind of milk coming from the parents' crop and for the following days with a mix of milk and seeds. In one month the chicks are ready to fly and abandon the nest and after only six months they are able to reproduce. The pigeon has excellent senses: it can distinguish a multitude of colors by having 5 types of cones (most birds only have 4 and humans have 3). They are also able to memorize over 700 symbols, remembering them for years and can understand whether a word makes sense by the frequency of some letters.
The pigeon is granivorous, so its diet consists of cereals and legumes. The flight capabilities of a pigeon are remarkable: it can travel up to 800 km at an average of 70 km/h to return to the dovecote or pigeon loft of origin to which it remains tied for life. Pigeons can carry infectious diseases and parasites that are harmful to human health. Through their excrement they disfigure monuments and buildings and can contaminate food or goods and, through uric acid, ruin cars and various means of transport.