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The familiar city pigeon — grey with a glossy green-and-purple neck and two dark wing bars.

How to spot it

A plump, round-headed pigeon, most often blue-grey with two black bars across each wing and a glossy green-and-purple sheen on the neck. City birds vary a lot, from near-white to almost black.

Where it lives

The wild ancestor nests on sea and mountain cliffs; the feral form now lives in towns and cities almost everywhere in the world, using ledges and buildings as artificial cliffs.

What it eats

Seeds and grain in the wild; in cities it will take almost any human food scraps.

Song & behaviour

A soft, rolling coo. Struts and bobs its head when walking, and gathers in large flocks around food.

Nesting

Builds a flimsy platform of twigs on a sheltered ledge, and can breed through much of the year where food is steady.

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