• Columba Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10 Edn., 824 pp. [162] [validated as correct name with above authorship, place of publication, and below cited type species by International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature Direction 38, cf. Mathews, G.M. 1923. On type designation of avian genera. Austral Avian Records 5: 74–80].

  Type species:

   Columba oenas Linnaeus, 1758 by subsequent designation, see Vigors, N.A. 1825. Observations on the natural affinities that connect the orders and families of birds. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 14: 395-517 [481].

  Secondary source:

   Mathews, G.M. 1923. On type designation of avian genera. Austral Avian Records 5: 74-80.
• Lithoenas Reichenbach, L. 1853. Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie. Dresden : Expedition der Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte Lief. 3 xxxi pp. [publication dated as 1852] [xxv] [published without description, but based by reference on Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(5)].

  Type species:

   Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 by original designation.
• Rupicola Boghdanov, M. 1884. Conspectus Avium Imperii Rossici. St.-Pétersbourg : Commissionaires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences Fasc. 1 122 pp. [1] [as Columba subgen. Rupicola; published without effective description, but based by reference on Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(5)].

  Type species:

   Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 by monotypy.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [17]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Eurasia south of Arctic Circle, and north Africa; indigenous from Ireland, Britain and France through southern Europe to Urals and arguably Caucasus, Russia, Asia Minor, north Africa and Canary Ils. Also introduced and established in most urban areas around the world, especially all larger cities in Western Hemisphere, Central and South America, India, South Africa and New Zealand.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

IMCRA

Lord Howe Province (14), Norfolk Island Province (21)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • Lord Howe Island
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Norfolk Island
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal, W plateau
  • Queensland: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

Distribution References

History of changes

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [17] (based on Roselaar, C.S. In Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Oxford : Oxford University Press Vol. 4 960 pp. 98 pls [297–298]; Australian introductions are probably of domestic stocks of the nominotypical subspecies, according to Goodwin, D. 1967. Australian pigeons: their affinities and status. Emu 66: 319–336; and Frith, H.J. 1982. Pigeons and Doves of Australia. Adelaide : Rigby vii 304 pp. 32 pls)

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Introduced.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

IMCRA

Lord Howe Province (14), Norfolk Island Province (21)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • Lord Howe Island
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Norfolk Island
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal, W plateau
  • Queensland: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

History of changes

• Columba domestica livia Gmelin, J.F. 1789. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Linné, editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata. Regnum Animalium. Leipzig (Lipsiae) : G.E. Beer Vol. 1(2) 501-1032 pp. [publication dated 1788] [769] [as Columba domestica livia; based on Le Biset in Brisson, M.-J. 1760. Ornithologie ou méthode contenant la Division des oiseaux en Ordres, Sectiones, Genres, Espèces & leurs Variétés. Paris : J.-B. Bauche Vol. I xxiv 526 lxxiii pp. XXXVII pls (82)].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown, France; southern Europe (published without locality).

  Type locality references:

  Vaurie, C. 1965. The Birds of the Palaearctic Fauna A systematic reference. Non-Passeriformes. London : H.F. & G. Witherby xx 763 pp. [544] (cf. Hartert, E. 1920. Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna. Systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel. Berlin : R. Friedländer & Sohn Bd Vol. 2 Heft 5 & 6 pp. 1345–1600 [1465]).

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Introduced and throughout all regions but restricted to urban areas, towns, stations and bare cliffs along coasts and rivers — vagrant in Torres Strait.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

IMCRA

Lord Howe Province (14), Norfolk Island Province (21)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • Lord Howe Island
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Norfolk Island
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal, W plateau
  • Queensland: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

Ecological Descriptors

Aerial, diurnal, granivore, gregarious, nomadic, resident, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Saxicoline, opportunistic breeder, peridomestic, nests on ledges on cliffs and buildings.

General References

Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Oxford : Oxford University Press Vol. 4 960 pp. 98 pls. (general biology and literature thereto)

Fullagar, P.J., McKean, J.L. & Van Tets, G.F. 1975. Report on the Birds, appendix F. pp. 55-72 in Recher, H.F. & Clark, S.S. (eds). Environmental Survey of Lord Howe Island A report to the Lord Howe Island Board. Sydney : Australian Museum viii 86 pp. (status on Lord Howe Is.)

Goodwin, D. 1959. Taxonomy of the genus Columba. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zool. 6: 1-23 (affinities of species)

Long, J.L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World. The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Illustrated by Susan Tingay. Sydney : A.H. & A.W. Reed 528 pp. (history and literature of regional introductions)

Schodde, R., Fullagar, P. & Hermes, N. 1983. A Review of Norfolk Island Birds: Past and Present. Canberra : Aust. Natl Parks Wldlf. Serv. Spec. Publ. 8 viii (un-numbered) 119 pp. (status on Norfolk Is.)

Woodall, P. 1985. Crested and Feral Pigeons feeding on fig-seeds: commensalism, feeding rates and vigilance. The Emu 85: 121-125 (behaviour, diet)

History of changes