The speckled pigeon (Columba guinea), or “rockies” as they are known amongst us hunters, must surely rate as the bread-and-butter game bird of Southern Africa. The alternative English name is “rock pigeon”. In Afrikaans, they are mostly called bosduif, although the correct name is kransduif. Whatever takes your fancy, I suppose…
Their numbers abound in most agricultural areas where grain crops are planted. In some areas, they are considered vermin due to the damage they cause to especially sunflower fields. It’s not only the staggering number of seeds a single bird can eat that is of major concern, but also the number of seeds that fall on the ground and are wasted – these seeds are dislodged from the ripe sunflower head by the bird’s feet when sitting on it. In some areas, farmers simply don’t plant sunflowers anymore as the annual losses from these birds by far exceed the narrow profit margin on these crops.
Because of this, participating in a “rocky” shoot is normally not that difficult to organise, and most farmers welcome hunters to keep the bird numbers in check, thus reducing their losses. Organised shoots, both paid for and free, are held regularly by churches, schools and a few hunting organisations. So, even if you do not have a contact in the farming community, it is relatively easy
