PIGEONS
“Fifteen species occur in South Africa. Of these, only two are pigeons that are considered breeding residents in the Kruger National Park.”
This article follows on from the one on doves in the previous edition of KRUGER MAGAZINE (Issue 18, Summer 2021).
The names ‘pigeons’ and ‘doves’ refer to the 310 species listed in the family Columbidae. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, there are no taxonomic difference between pigeons and doves. The difference is mainly in colloquial semantics – a dove generally being smaller than a pigeon.
Dr Ian Whyte is an independent environmental consultant who retired from SANParks in 2007. He was previously engaged in full-time wildlife research in the Kruger National Park from 1970-2007. At the time of retirement, he was responsible for the coordination of all research projects pertaining to elephant, buffalo and other large herbivores and rare antelope. He is
