Columbidae is
a bird family consisting of pigeons and doves. It is
the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout bodied
birds with short necks, and short slender bills that in some species feature
fleshy ceres. They primarily feed on seeds, fruits, and plants. The family
occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalayan and Australasian
realms.
The family contains 344 species divided
into 49 genera. Thirteen of the species are extinct.
Doves
and pigeons build relatively flimsy nests, often
using sticks and other debris, which may be placed on branches of trees, on
ledges, or on the ground, depending on species. They lay one or (usually) two
white eggs at a time, and both parents care for the young, which leave the nest
after 25-32 days. Unfledged baby doves and pigeons are called squabs and are
generally able to fly by 5 weeks of age. These fledglings, with their immature
squeaking voices, are called squeakers once they are weaned or weaning. Unlike
most birds, both sexes of doves and pigeons produce crop milk to feed to their young, secreted by a sloughing of
fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop.