African Olive Pigeon vs Common Wood Pigeon

African Olive Pigeon

Columba arquatrix

Large400 gForest

The adult male African olive pigeon is a large pigeon at 37 to 42 cm (15 to 17 in) in length and a weight of 300 to 450 g (11 to 16 oz). Its back and wings are maroon, with the shoulders heavily speckled with white spots. The underparts are maroon with heavy white spotting, and the head is grey with yellow patches around the eye, and a yellow bill. The neck plumage, used in display, is streaked maroon and white, the underwing and undertail are dark grey, and the feet are yellow. Females are very similar to males but somewhat duller.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Matthew Hine · CC BY 2.0

Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

Large490 gWoodland

The three Western European Columba pigeons, common wood pigeon, stock dove and rock dove, though superficially alike, have very distinctive characteristics; the common wood pigeon may be identified at once by its larger size at 38–44.5 cm (15–17+1⁄2 in) and weight 300–615 g (10+5⁄8–21+3⁄4 oz), and the white on its neck and wing. It is otherwise a basically grey bird, with a pinkish breast. The wingspan can range from 68 to 80 cm (27 to 31 in) and the wing chord measures 24 to 25.4 cm (9+1⁄2 to 10 in). The tail measures 13.8 to 15 cm (5+1⁄2 to 6 in), the bill is 1.9 to 2. Voice: The call of the wood pigeon is a monotonous five-syllable characteristic cooing phrase, "oooh, oooh, ooh, ooooh, ooh", usually repeated several times. In Ireland and the UK, the traditional mnemonic for this repeated cooing phrase has been interpreted as "Take two cows, Teddy", or "Take two cows, Taffy".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Song · Courtils, Manche, Normandy, France · CC0

Photo: Alexis LOURS · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: African Olive Pigeon and Common Wood Pigeon.