are small to medium sized birds with short legs and necks and are well known to all people over the world. That is especially true for one specie, the Rock Dove, the commonly known pigeon to many city dwellers. That bird also inhabits all major towns in Ecuador but another 28 wild species can be found on mainland Ecuador. Only one specie, the endemic Galapagos Dove inhabits the Galapagos islands.

Rock Doves (Columba livia), native to Europe and Asia, are the ancestors of the many domestic breeds and subsequent feral breeds of the Common Pigeon. The Rock Doves were bred since historical times for their body and plumage features. Very different looking birds like Carriers, Pouters and Jacobins evolved from those artificial breeding programs but they are all still the same specie. Pigeons are the equivalent of dogs in the avian world showing high plasticity of body shape. But also behavioral skills were reinforced. The Homing Pigeon has exceptional navigational skills, finding their way back home from long distances away.

Pigeons and Doves live in open terrain, wooded habitat and some are numerous in towns and larger cities. They feed mostly on grains, seeds and fruits, which they store first in their crop and later grind them up in their muscular gizzard with the help of grit. They drink a lot of water, more than any other bird. Distinction between doves and pigeons are mostly semantic with the smaller ones usually called doves.

Females build simple and flat nests in trees made of twigs and plant fibers, which are gathered and brought to her by the males. 1-2 eggs are laid and both parents incubate for around 2 weeks (in larger species up to a month). The chicks which hatch are semi-altricial and  fledge and become independent early. In the beginning they are fed by both female and male a milky substance (pigeon or crop milk) which is rich in fats and proteins (similar to mammalian milk) produced in both sexes' crop. Later on that is substituted by regurgitated fruits and seeds. Once the young leaves the nest they join feeding flocks of other immatures and adults. Because of the quick development of the young, some species can have as many as five broods a year.