The Rock Dove, or Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica), is the city's ubiquitous dove — a feral form of the domesticated pigeon found in every conceivable colour, from blue-grey to white and brick-red. Measuring 31–34 cm with a wingspan of roughly 63–70 cm and weighing 240–380 g, it shows remarkably variable plumage because it descends from many different domestic breeding lines, ranging from pure white and brick-red birds to mottled, sooty or near-black individuals. Some birds still show the ancestral Rock Dove pattern — a blue-grey body, two black wing bars, a white rump and a green-violet sheen on the neck — while city flocks usually show a mix of all these traits. Its call is a dull, cooing "koo-roo-kuu" heard year-round from rooftops and window ledges, and displaying males bow and puff out their neck feathers while cooing persistently.
Found in towns and cities across Sweden, from Skåne to northern Norrland and most numerous in larger cities, the Feral Pigeon is entirely tied to buildings and absent from undisturbed nature; it is a true resident, staying in the same urban patch all year. Pairs nest on ledges, roof beams, under bridges and in ventilation openings — a direct substitute for the wild Rock Dove's cliff ledges — building a simple, sparse twig platform and often reusing it brood after brood. The female usually lays 2 white eggs, and pairs can raise several broods spread across much of the year, even through winter in milder urban climates; both parents incubate, and young are initially fed on nutrient-rich "crop milk". Its diet of grain, seeds, bread scraps and other food waste makes it an opportunist well suited to city life, and the domesticated Rock Dove has followed humans for at least 5,000 years.
Read about this species in Swedish →