Columbiformes

(vertebrate zoology) An order of birds distinguished by a short, pointed bill, imperforate nostrils, and short legs.

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An order of birds containing three families, the largest of which is the worldwide pigeons and doves (Columbidae). The members of this order are characterized by an ability to drink water by sucking instead of the sip-and-tilt method of most birds. However, some other groups of birds are able to suck water by various methods.

The order Columbiformes is divided into the suborder Pterocletes, with the single family Pteroclidae (sandgrouse; 16 species), and the suborder Columbae with the families Raphidae (dodos; 3 species) and Columbidae (pigeons and doves; 303 species). Relationships of Columbiformes appear to be to the Charadriiformes in one direction and to the Psittaciformes in another. Possibly the Columbiformes are a central stock in the evolution of birds. See also Charadriiformes; Psittaciformes.

Pigeons are found mainly in the tropics, but a number of species are common in temperate regions. They have a sleek plumage ranging from browns and grays to the brilliant greens, yellows, and reds of the tropical fruit pigeons. They feed on seeds, fruit, and other vegetarian food. Most pigeons live in flocks but breed solitarily. Almost all are nonmigratory.

The sandgrouse live in flocks in dry grasslands and deserts of the Old World, but depend on ponds of water to which flocks come in large numbers. The nest is generally a long distance from water, which is transported to the young by soaking specialized belly feathers. The young drink only from these moistened feathers, and will refuse water in pans placed before them.

The three species of dodos and solitares were found only in the several Macarene Islands and were completely exterminated by the seventeenth century by sailors and released pigs. See also Aves.

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Columbiformes Temporal range: Early Miocene - Recent
Spotted Dove
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Neognathae
Order:	Columbiformes Latham, 1790
Families
Columbidae Raphidae
Geographic range of the Columbidae Family.

Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae.^[1] 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order.^[2] Like many birds, all Columbiformes are monogamous. Unlike most other birds, however, they are capable of drinking by sucking up water, without needing to tilt the head back.^[3][4]

Taxonomy

The Pteroclididae (sandgrouse) were formerly included in this order largely due to this drinking behavior ("The only other group, however, which shows the same behavior, the Pteroclididae, is placed near the doves just by this doubtlessly very old characteristic."^[4]); more recently, it had been reported that they cannot drink by "sucking" or "pumping",^[5] and they are now treated separately in the order Pteroclidiformes and are considered to be closer to the shorebirds.^[1]

Osteology and DNA sequence analyses^[6][7] indicate that the Dodo and Rodrigues Solitaire are better considered as a subfamily Raphinae in the Columbidae pending availability of further information.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Columbiformes (Pigeons, Doves, and Dodos)". Francis Hugh John Crome. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Eds. Michael Hutchins, Dennis A. Thoney, and Melissa C. McDade. Vol. 9: Birds II. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. p 241-246. 17 vols.
2. ^ [Curry, Robert. "Avian Orders: Columbiformes." BirdNet. 1 Nov. 2003. Smithsonian Institution. 11 Aug. 2007 <http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/ORDERS/Columbiformes.html>.
3. ^ "Drinking Behavior of Mousebirds in the Namib Desert, Southern Africa "; Tom J. Cade and Lewis I. Greenwald; The Auk, V.83, No. 1, January, 1966 pdf
4. ^ ^{a b} K. Lorenz, Verhandl. Deutsch. Zool. Ges., 41 [Zool. Anz. Suppl. 12]: 69-102, 1939
5. ^ "Drinking Behavior of Sandgrouse in the Namib and Kalahari Deserts, Africa"; Tom J. Cade, Ernest J. Willoughby, and Gordon L. Maclean; The Auk, V.83, No. 1, January, 1966 pdf
6. ^ Janoo, Anwar (2005): Discovery of isolated dodo bones [Raphus cucullatus (L.), Aves, Columbiformes] from Mauritius cave shelters highlights human predation, with a comment on the status of the family Raphidae Wetmore, 1930. Annales de Paléontologie 91: 167–180. [English with French abstract] doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2004.12.002 (HTML abstract)
7. ^ Shapiro, Beth; Sibthorpe, Dean; Rambaut, Andrew; Austin, Jeremy; Wragg, Graham M.; Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R. P.; Lee, Patricia L. M. & Cooper, Alan (2002): Flight of the Dodo. Science 295: 1683. doi:10.1126/science.295.5560.1683 (HTML abstract) Supplementary information

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Columbidae

Columbiformes at the Open Directory Project

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