City pigeons in Puerto Rico: the Rock Pigeon

What the Rock Pigeon is and where it came from

Columba livia is the wild cliff pigeon of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, domesticated long ago and carried by people to cities across most of the planet. Domestic pigeons, with around a thousand breeds, descend from it, and escaped birds from those breeds founded the feral populations of cities.

That history gives it several names. SOPI's Catalog of the Birds of Puerto Rico calls it Paloma Doméstica (Asilvestrada); the Spanish Ornithological Society, Paloma Bravía; and this site, Paloma Común. In English, Rock Pigeon and Rock Dove are synonyms. Our catalog classifies it as introduced.

In the Caribbean, the atlas describes it as a common resident in the northern Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, the Virgin and Cayman Islands, and in large towns of the Lesser Antilles. In Puerto Rico it lives in many town plazas and is also common in the urban areas of Vieques.

How to recognize it despite its colors

The wild type is unmistakable: pale gray body, darker head, a neck glossed green and purple, white rump, and two black bars on each wing. In flight it shows strongly contrasting white underwings. It is about 34 centimeters long.

The catch is that city pigeons vary enormously: black, reddish or brown, white, checkered, and pied birds are all common. When color does not help, use structure (stout body, small head, pointed wings), behavior (walking in flocks on the ground among people and buildings), and place. A white pigeon in a plaza is almost always a domestic variant of this species, not a different species.

Males and females look very similar. The easiest way to pick out a male is the courtship Audubon describes: he puffs up his chest, spreads his tail, and struts around the female.

How not to confuse it with native pigeons

Scaly-naped Pigeon, the most common native pigeon, is similar in size but dark slate gray with a wine-red neck and scaly nape, lacks the white rump and black wing bars, and lives in forests and coffee farms. White-crowned Pigeon is dark with a white crown and prefers mangroves and coast. Neither forms tame flocks around people in a plaza.

The introduced collared-doves, which also visit suburbs, are smaller, pale, and sandy, with a black half-collar on the nape. The native doves—Zenaida and White-winged—are brown, smaller, and differently tailed. If the pigeon has black wing bars and a white rump, or fancy plumage, you are looking at a Rock Pigeon.

Where it lives: plazas, streets, and the Parque de las Palomas

The atlas sums up its habitat as city streets and parks, buildings, and populated rural areas. It breeds mainly in the subtropical moist forest life zone (63 % of breeding hexagons), which is where most towns are, but also in the dry zone (17 %) and in wetter, higher zones (20 %). Where there are buildings and food, there are pigeons.

The best-known place to see them is the Parque de las Palomas in Old San Juan, beside the Capilla del Cristo at the end of Calle del Cristo. The pigeons live in openings in the park's back wall, which work like an apartment building for birds, and visitors can buy feed to give them.

Nests, eggs, and young

Rock Pigeons build a nest of sticks and plant material on human structures: buildings, bridges, storefronts, or any available ledge, much as their ancestors did on cliff ledges. According to Audubon, the female builds the nest with material the male brings.

They lay two eggs (sometimes one) that both parents incubate for 16 to 19 days. Both feed the young crop milk, and the young leave the nest at 25–32 days. A pair may raise five or more broods a year and may mate for life.

In Puerto Rico the atlas confirmed breeding in every month, with the most activity from March to June and a peak in June. So it is normal to see squabs or courting pairs well outside spring.

What it eats, what eats it, and what the law says

It eats mostly seeds picked up while walking on the ground, and in cities many flocks depend on bread, popcorn, and other scraps people provide. Audubon notes that although they are sometimes considered urban pests, they have not been shown to have much negative impact on native birds, and that they are a favorite prey of Peregrine Falcons.

Legally it is an exotic species. It is not in any threatened category of DRNA or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the 2022 pigeon and dove hunting notice allowed taking it without a bag limit during the season, with a license and stamp. That is not permission to hunt anywhere or without a license: confirm with DRNA where, when, and how hunting is allowed.

Are Rock Pigeons native to Puerto Rico?

No. The Rock Pigeon is native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia and was introduced to Puerto Rico, as it was to most of the world. Plaza pigeons descend from feral domestic pigeons.

What is the scientific name of the Rock Pigeon?

Columba livia. Rock Pigeon and Rock Dove are two English names for the same species; SOPI's catalog calls it Paloma Doméstica (Asilvestrada).

Is a rock dove the same as a rock pigeon?

Yes. They are two English names for Columba livia. In Puerto Rico it is called paloma común, paloma doméstica, or simply paloma.

How can you tell a male Rock Pigeon from a female?

Plumage barely helps: males and females look very similar. The most useful clue is behavior, since the male puffs his chest, spreads his tail, and struts while courting.

How much does a pigeon weigh?

A Rock Pigeon weighs about 350 grams according to our catalog profiles and is about 34 centimeters long. The Common Ground Dove, Puerto Rico's smallest dove, weighs only about 33 grams.

Where is the Parque de las Palomas?

In Old San Juan, beside the Capilla del Cristo at the end of Calle del Cristo. The pigeons live in openings in the park's back wall.