Rock dove
Amazing fact
Rock doves walk while bobbing their heads back and forth.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Rock doves walk while bobbing their heads back and forth.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Rock dove
- Scientific name
- Columba livia
- Japanese name
- カワラバト（ドバト）
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Columba
The feral pigeons (dobato) seen in towns were developed from the rock dove as domestic birds (poultry); they belong to the same species.
Wild rock doves nest in cracks in rocky seaside cliffs. In cities, tall buildings take the place of the cliffs.
Feather colors vary a lot. Birds close to the original wild form are bluish grey, with black bars on the wings.
It mainly eats seeds, but also insects and food that people give it.
How the Rock dove lives
They feed on open ground early in the morning and in the afternoon. They gather in flocks when roosting or sunning. They seek shelter at night.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: about 33 cm国立環境研究所 侵入生物データベース
- Range
- North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and western China国立環境研究所 侵入生物データベース
Where the Rock dove has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- カワラバト（ドバト）
- 简体中文
- 原鸽
- 繁體中文
- 岩鴿
- 한국어
- 바위비둘기
- Español
- Paloma bravía
- Français
- Pigeon biset
- Deutsch
- Felsentaube
- Português (Brasil)
- Pombo-comum
- Italiano
- Piccione selvatico occidentale
- हिन्दी
- pigean
- العربية
- حمام طوراني
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Merpati batu
- Русский
- Сизый голубь
- Türkçe
- Kaya güvercini
- ไทย
- นกพิราบ
- বাংলা
- জালালি কবুতর
- اردو
- جنگلی کبوتر
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 国立環境研究所 侵入生物データベース — ドバトChecked: 2026-11-03
- 国土交通省 山国川河川事務所 — 山国川の鳥図鑑 カワラバトChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Columba liviaChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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