Columbidae

Great cuckoo dove Reinwardtoena reinwardtsi, photographed by Rob Hutchinson.

Belongs within: Columbaves.
Contains: Columbigallina, Aplopelia, Leptotila, Zenaida, Geotrygon, Macropygia, Patagioenas, Columba, Streptopelia, Stigmatopelia, Treroninae, Columbina.

The Columbidae include the pigeons and doves, a distinctive family of mostly herbivorous, strong-flying birds found worldwide. Earlier authors mostly divided this family between the Treroninae for the palaeotropical fruit pigeons and Columbinae for the remaining 'true pigeons', with a few more small subfamilies for certain distinctive taxa, but this scheme has not been supported by molecular phylogenetic analyses (Shapiro et al. 2002; Jetz et al. 2012). Instead, a clade of New World taxa including the genera Geotrygon (quail-doves), Leptotila and Zenaida (mourning doves) may form one of the basal divisions within the columbids. Its sister-clade, containing the remaining species, is most diverse in the Old World, though it does include the New World ground doves (Claravis, Columbina and related genera). The now-extinct passenger pigeon Ectopistes migratorius of North America may be a relatively basal member of this clade; the passenger pigeon was a slender, long-winged and -tailed pigeon adapted for strong, rapid flight.

Characters (from Austin 1961): Stout-bodied, neck rather short, head small. Bill short, slender, rounded, usually thickening toward tip and thinner in the middle; nostrils emerging through fleshy cere at base of bill. Plumage a thick, heavy coat of strong-shafted feathers, loosely attached to thin skin so as to drop out easily.

Columbidae (see below for synonymy)
    |--+--+--+--‘Geotrygon’ veraguensis BKB15
    |  |  |  `--Leptotila SS02
    |  |  `--+--Zenaida SS02
    |  |     `--Geotrygon SS02
    |  `--+--+--‘Geotrygon’ purpurata BKB15
    |     |  `--‘Geotrygon’ saphirina BKB15
    |     `--+--‘Geotrygon’ versicolor BKB15
    |        `--+--‘Geotrygon’ montana BKB15
    |           |    |--G. m. montana MS55
    |           |    `--G. m. martinica MS55
    |           `--‘Geotrygon’ violacea BKB15
    `--+--+--Ectopistes Swainson 1827 BKB15, B94 [Ectopistinae]
       |  |    `--E. migratorius SS02
       |  `--+--+--Macropygia SS02
       |     |  `--Reinwardtoena JT12
       |     |       |--R. browni JT12
       |     |       |--R. crassirostris JT12
       |     |       `--R. reinwardtsi JT12
       |     |            |--R. r. reinwardtsi T62
       |     |            |--R. r. albida T62
       |     |            |--R. r. brevis T62
       |     |            `--R. r. griseotincta T62
       |     `--+--Patagioenas BKB15
       |        `--+--Columba SS02
       |           `--+--Streptopelia SS02
       |              `--+--Stigmatopelia JT12
       |                 `--Nesoenas SS02
       |                      |--N. mayeri SS02
       |                      `--N. picturata JT12 [=Streptopelia picturata BKB15, Turtur picturatus S66]
       |                           |--N. p. picturata L81
       |                           |--‘Streptopelia’ p. aldabrana L81
       |                           |--‘Streptopelia’ p. chuni L81
       |                           |--‘Streptopelia’ p. comorensis L81
       |                           |--‘Streptopelia’ p. rostrata L81
       |                           `--‘Streptopelia’ p. saturata L81
       `--+--Treroninae SS02
          `--+--Claravis Oberholser 1899 JT12, B94 [incl. Peristera Swainson 1827 B94]
             |    |--C. geoffroyi HSS13
             |    |--C. godefrida JT12
             |    |--C. mondetoura JT12
             |    |--C. pretiosa JT12
             |    |--‘Peristera’ principalis Hartlaub in Dohrn 1866 D66
             |    |--‘Peristera’ simplex D66
             |    `--‘Peristera’ tympanistria S66
             `--+--Uropelia campestris JT12
                `--+--Columbina SS02
                   `--Metriopelia JT12
                        |--M. aymara JT12
                        `--+--M. melanoptera JT12
                           `--+--M. ceciliae JT12 [=Gymnopelia ceciliae T62]
                              |    |--M. c. ceciliae T62
                              |    |--M. c. obsoleta T62
                              |    `--M. c. zimmeri [=Gymnopelia ceciliae zimmeri] T62
                              `--M. morenoi JT12

Columbidae incertae sedis:
  Zenaidura T62
    |--Z. auriculata T62
    |    |--Z. a. auriculata T62
    |    `--Z. a. stenura T62
    |--Z. graysoni RN72
    `--Z. macroura T62
         |--Z. m. macroura T62
         |--Z. m. carolinensis T62
         `--Z. m. marginella T62
  Columbigallina T62
  Tympanistria tympanistria T62
    |--T. t. tympanistria T62
    `--T. t. fraseri T62
  Oreopeleia T62
    |--O. chiriquensis RN72
    |--O. chrysia RN72
    |--O. martinica RN72
    |--O. montana S18
    `--O. mystacea T62
         |--O. m. mystacea T62
         `--O. m. sabae T62
  Aplopelia JT12
  Coryphoenas T62
  Nesopelia galapagoensis RN72
  Oxypelia T62
  Lophophaps T62
    |--L. ferruginea Gould 1865 WS48 (see below for synonymy)
    `--L. leucogaster R87
  Osculatia T62
  Melopelia asiatica FS55
  Starnoenas Bonaparte 1838 [Starnoenadinae] B94
    `--S. cyanocephala JT12
  Erythroenas pulcherrima B66
  Scardafella SS02
    |--S. inca L81
    `--S. squammata (Lesson 1831) ME04
  Dysmoropelia dekarchiskos HSS13
  Rupephaps Worthy, Hand et al. 2009 CC10
    `--*R. taketake Worthy, Hand et al. 2009 CC10
  Calopelia puella PB27
    |--C. p. puella PB27
    `--C. p. brehmeri PB27

Columbidae [Claravinae, Columbae, Columbiformes, Columbinae, Columbini, Palumbinae, Peristeridae, Peristerinae, Turturidae]

Lophophaps ferruginea Gould 1865 WS48 [=Geophaps plumifera ferruginea M03; incl. L. ferruginea mungi Mathews 1912 WS48]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.

[B66] Bartlett, A. D. 1866. Notes on the breeding of several species of birds in the Society's gardens during the year 1865. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 76–79.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[D66] Dohrn, H. 1866. Synopsis of the birds of Ilha do Principe, with some remarks on their habits and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 324–332.

[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1–2): 9–19.

[HSS13] Hirschfeld, E., A. Swash & R. Still. 2013. The World's Rarest Birds. Princeton University Press: Princeton (New Jersey).

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[ME04] Mayr, G., & P. G. P. Ericson. 2004. Evidence for a sister group relationship between the Madagascan mesites (Mesitornithidae) and the cuckoos (Cuculidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 84 (1–2): 1–17.

[MS55] Mertens, R., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Die im Senckenberg-Museum vorhandenen Arten ausgestorbener, aussterbender oder seltener Vögel. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (3–4): 241–265.

[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds 2^nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.

[PB27] Pilsbry, H. A., & J. Bequaert. 1927. The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53 (2): 69–602, pls 10–77.

[R87] Ramsay, E. P. 1887. List of Western Australian birds collected by Mr. Cairn, and Mr. W. H. Boyer-Bower, at Derby and its vicinity, with remarks on the species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1085–1100.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. London, Blandford Press.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[SS02] Shapiro, B., D. Sibthorpe, A. Rambaut, J. Austin, G. M. Wragg, O. R. P. Bininda-Emonds, P. L. M. Lee & A. Cooper. 2002. Flight of the dodo. Nature 295: 1683.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[T62] Tendeiro, J. 1962. Estudos sobre malófagos: revisão monográfica do género Columbicola Ewing (Ischnocera, Philopteridae). Memórias da Junta de Investigações do Ultramar, ser. 2, 32: 7–460.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 29 August 2019.