Congregation Among
Columba livia
A Study of Microhabitat Usage
and Morning Group Assembly in a
Population of Columba livia
Columba livia
• C. livia is more
commonly known as
the Rock Dove or Feral
Pidgeon.
• It is a large very
successfully urbanized
species of the order
Columbiformes.
• It is known to form
colonies and forage in
large groups.
Study Objectives
• The purpose of this study was to examine
how concentration of individuals at 3rd St
and Campbell Ave changes over the
course of the day.
• My study was therefore designed to
attempt to detect a preference for this
location dependant upon the time of day.
Methods
• The number of Rock Doves on the stretch
of electrical wires was recorded was
recorded once every ten minutes from
6:00-8:00 AM and again from 11:00 AM –
12:00 PM.
• Once all the data was collected the Mean
and Median numbers of Rock Doves at
each time interval was determined along
with Standard Deviation.
12:00
11:50
11:40
11:30
11:20
11:10
11:00
8:00
7:50
7:40
7:30
7:20
7:10
7:00
6:50
6:40
6:30
6:20
6:10
6:00
12:00
11:50
11:40
11:30
11:20
11:10
11:00
8:00
7:50
7:40
7:30
7:20
7:10
7:00
6:50
6:40
6:30
6:20
6:10
6:00
Results
Mean Values
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Median Values
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Conclusions
• Rock Doves favor the research site more
between 6:10-7:20 AM, relative to the
other times studied.
• Variation was extremely high from
sampling to sampling.
• Early congregation appears to be
supported although only marginally.
Discussion
• Why do Rock Doves congregate?
– Predation
– Mate Access
– Warming
– Vestigial Trait
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Questions?