When you see a bird from the Columbidae clade it is not always easy to tell if it is a dove or a pigeon. One explanation that I have seen is that the smaller members of the family are doves and the larger ones are pigeons. However, this does not always hold true, as the largest member of the family is the crowned pigeon. Sometime the same species will be know as a pigeon or dove based on where they are. For instance you may call a the same species a pigeon in the US and a dove in the UK.

Tonight I am going to post two pictures of birds from the Columbidae clade or family that I took while in Israel.

Here is the first one.I believe that these are Laughing Doves or Spilopelia senegalensis. I took this picture while we were visiting the ruins of Jericho. They have a nice place to perch and keep an eye on things.

Here is the second picture.Here we have a Rock Pigeon or Columba livia. The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) has just recently changed the official name to Rock Dove, but in common use it is usually just called a pigeon.

I really like this picture. The pigeon seems to be keeping an eye on me and wondering what I am doing with my camera. In any case, it is a beautiful pose. I really like this shot of the bird with the head cocked to one side.

The picture was taken at Nebi Samwil, which is traditionally the place where the prophet Samuel is buried just north of Jerusalem.

So, what do you think? Are they both doves, or would you still call the second one a pigeon. Should the IOC dictate what a bird is called, when traditionally it has a different name?

I have some other pictures of pigeons from Asia, but thought I would restrict this to just ones from Israel. Perhaps another post is in store with colorful pigeons as the subject.

Steven