And Rock Pigeons breed in just those rocky areas widely in eastern Washington. They nest on cliff ledges exactly as they do in their native range. I think they commute in flocks between their nesting habitat and nearby croplands, just as I saw them doing in Israel. I wonder if anyone has paid much attention to those populations. Are they variable like so many populations of Rock Pigeons, or have they reverted to the original plumage type?
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
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On Feb 19, 2022, at 6:57 PM, Steve Hampton <stevechampton at gmail.com> wrote:
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I'm not an eBird reviewer but I can tell you that native wild Rock Pigeons generally occur in rocky habitats in arid regions from Spain and Morocco across southern Europe and northern Africa and the Middle East to India and Mongolia. Anywhere else they are considered feral and come in a variety of color patterns.
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Birders in North America should use the "Rock Pigeon (feral)" option.
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On Sat, Feb 19, 2022 at 6:48 PM Carol Riddell <cariddellwa at gmail.com <mailto:cariddellwa at gmail.com>> wrote:
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Dennis Paulson raised a great question about why some pigeon sightings turn up as rare birds in eBird. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) is the listing on the basic checklist. If you want to report a wild type, you have to add a species to the checklist and select Rock Pigeon (wild type). That is considered a rare bird. But how are we to determine what is a feral pigeon and what is a wild type Rock Pigeon? There is no guidance in eBird that I can find. When should we consider using the wild type category and what evidence of a rare pigeon sighting would eBird reviewers want to consider when deciding whether to include the report in the public data?
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I think knowing this would be as useful to birders who do not use eBird as it would be to eBirders. We all want to improve our birding skills and learn how to distinguish things in the field. Any answers from any local eBird reviewer who might feel so inclined? Thanks.
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Carol Riddell
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Edmonds, WA
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--
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Steve Hampton
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Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)
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