'Columba livia' definitions:

Definition of 'Columba livia'

noun

Pale grey Eurasian pigeon having black-striped wings from which most domestic species are descended [syn: rock dove, rock pigeon, Columba livia]

Definition of 'Columba livia'

From: GCIDE

Pigeon \Pi"geon\, n. [F., fr. L. pipio a young pipping or chirping bird, fr. pipire to peep, chirp. Cf. Peep to chirp.]
1. (Zool.) Any bird of the order Columb[ae], of which numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world. [1913 Webster]
Note: The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from the Old World rock pigeon or rock dove ({Columba livia}), common in cities. It has given rise to numerous very remarkable varieties, such as the carrier, fantail, nun, pouter, tumbler, etc. The common wild pigeon of the Eastern United States is the Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura, called also Carolina dove). Before the 19th century, the most common pigeon was the passenger pigeon, but that species is now extinct. See Passenger pigeon, and Carolina dove under Dove. See, also, {Fruit pigeon}, Ground pigeon, Queen pigeon, {Stock pigeon}, under Fruit, Ground, etc. [1913 Webster +PJC]
2. An unsuspected victim of sharpers; a gull. [Slang] [1913 Webster]
Blue pigeon (Zool.), an Australian passerine bird (Graucalus melanops); -- called also black-faced crow.
Green pigeon (Zool.), any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to the family Treronid[ae].
Imperial pigeon (Zool.), any one of the large Asiatic fruit pigeons of the genus Carpophada.
Pigeon berry (Bot.), the purplish black fruit of the pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed.
Pigeon English [perhaps a corruption of business English], an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindustani. --Johnson's Cyc.
Pigeon grass (Bot.), a kind of foxtail grass ({Setaria glauca}), of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly eaten by pigeons and other birds.
Pigeon hawk. (Zool.) (a) A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked with brown. The tail is banded. (b) The American sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter velox or Accipiter fuscus).
Pigeon hole. (a) A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house. (b) See Pigeonhole. (c) pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled through little arches. --Halliwell.
Pigeon house, a dovecote.
Pigeon pea (Bot.), the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the plant itself.
Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus (Chrysobalanus ellipticus and Chrysobalanus luteus).
Pigeon tremex. (Zool.) See under Tremex.
Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba.
Pigeon woodpecker (Zool.), the flicker.
Prairie pigeon. (Zool.) (a) The upland plover. (b) The golden plover. [Local, U.S.] [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Columba livia'

From: GCIDE

Homing \Hom"ing\ (h[=o]m"[i^]ng), p. a. Home-returning; -- used specifically of carrier pigeons. [1913 Webster]
Homing pigeon, any pigeon trained to return home from a distance. Also called carrier pigeon. Most are bred from the domestic pigeon Columba livia. Homing pigeons are used for sending back messages or for flying races. By carrying the birds away and releasing them at gradually increasing distances from home, they may be trained to return with more or less certainty and promptness from distances up to four or five hundred miles. The birds typically do not stop on their way home, and may average as much as 60 miles per hour on their return trip. If the distance is increased much beyond 400 miles, the birds are unable to cover it without stopping for a prolonged rest, and their return becomes doubtful. The record for returnig from a distance is close to 1,200 miles. Homing pigeons are not bred for fancy points or special colors, but for strength, speed, endurance, and intelligence or homing instinct. Although used since ancient times, homing pigeons have been largely displaced for practical purposes by radio and electronic communications, but they are still used in some special situations at the end of the 20th century. They were used in military operations as recently as in World War II. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC] hominian

Definition of 'Columba livia'

From: GCIDE

Rock \Rock\, n. [OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc.]
1. A large concreted mass of stony material; a large fixed stone or crag. See Stone. [1913 Webster]
Come one, come all! this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
2. (Geol.) Any natural deposit forming a part of the earth's crust, whether consolidated or not, including sand, earth, clay, etc., when in natural beds. [1913 Webster]
3. That which resembles a rock in firmness; a defense; a support; a refuge. [1913 Webster]
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress. --2 Sam. xxii. 2. [1913 Webster]
4. Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or wreck resembling the wreck of a vessel upon a rock. [1913 Webster]
5. (Zool.) The striped bass. See under Bass. [1913 Webster]
Note: This word is frequently used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, rock-bound, rock-built, rock-ribbed, rock-roofed, and the like. [1913 Webster]
Rock alum. [Probably so called by confusion with F. roche a rock.] Same as Roche alum.
Rock barnacle (Zool.), a barnacle (Balanus balanoides) very abundant on rocks washed by tides.
Rock bass. (Zool.) (a) The stripped bass. See under Bass. (b) The goggle-eye. (c) The cabrilla. Other species are also locally called rock bass.
Rock builder (Zool.), any species of animal whose remains contribute to the formation of rocks, especially the corals and Foraminifera.
Rock butter (Min.), native alum mixed with clay and oxide of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish white color, occuring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous slate.
Rock candy, a form of candy consisting of crystals of pure sugar which are very hard, whence the name.
Rock cavy. (Zool.) See Moco.
Rock cod (Zool.) (a) A small, often reddish or brown, variety of the cod found about rocks andledges. (b) A California rockfish.
Rock cook. (Zool.) (a) A European wrasse (Centrolabrus exoletus). (b) A rockling.
Rock cork (Min.), a variety of asbestus the fibers of which are loosely interlaced. It resembles cork in its texture.
Rock crab (Zool.), any one of several species of large crabs of the genus C, as the two species of the New England coast (Cancer irroratus and Cancer borealis). See Illust. under Cancer.
Rock cress (Bot.), a name of several plants of the cress kind found on rocks, as Arabis petraea, Arabis lyrata, etc.
Rock crystal (Min.), limpid quartz. See Quartz, and under Crystal.
Rock dove (Zool.), the rock pigeon; -- called also {rock doo}.
Rock drill, an implement for drilling holes in rock; esp., a machine impelled by steam or compressed air, for drilling holes for blasting, etc.
Rock duck (Zool.), the harlequin duck.
Rock eel. (Zool.) See Gunnel.
Rock goat (Zool.), a wild goat, or ibex.
Rock hopper (Zool.), a penguin of the genus Catarractes. See under Penguin.
Rock kangaroo. (Zool.) See Kangaroo, and Petrogale.
Rock lobster (Zool.), any one of several species of large spinose lobsters of the genera Panulirus and Palinurus. They have no large claws. Called also {spiny lobster}, and sea crayfish.
Rock meal (Min.), a light powdery variety of calcite occuring as an efflorescence.
Rock milk. (Min.) See Agaric mineral, under Agaric.
Rock moss, a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See Cudbear.
Rock oil. See Petroleum.
Rock parrakeet (Zool.), a small Australian parrakeet (Euphema petrophila), which nests in holes among the rocks of high cliffs. Its general color is yellowish olive green; a frontal band and the outer edge of the wing quills are deep blue, and the central tail feathers bluish green.
Rock pigeon (Zool.), the wild pigeon (Columba livia) Of Europe and Asia, from which the domestic pigeon was derived. See Illust. under Pigeon.
Rock pipit. (Zool.) See the Note under Pipit.
Rock plover. (Zool.) (a) The black-bellied, or whistling, plover. (b) The rock snipe.
Rock ptarmigan (Zool.), an arctic American ptarmigan (Lagopus rupestris), which in winter is white, with the tail and lores black. In summer the males are grayish brown, coarsely vermiculated with black, and have black patches on the back.
Rock rabbit (Zool.), the hyrax. See Cony, and Daman.
Rock ruby (Min.), a fine reddish variety of garnet.
Rock salt (Min.), cloride of sodium (common salt) occuring in rocklike masses in mines; mineral salt; salt dug from the earth. In the United States this name is sometimes given to salt in large crystals, formed by evaporation from sea water in large basins or cavities.
Rock seal (Zool.), the harbor seal. See Seal.
Rock shell (Zool.), any species of Murex, Purpura, and allied genera.
Rock snake (Zool.), any one of several large pythons; as, the royal rock snake (Python regia) of Africa, and the rock snake of India (Python molurus). The Australian rock snakes mostly belong to the allied genus Morelia.
Rock snipe (Zool.), the purple sandpiper ({Tringa maritima}); -- called also rock bird, rock plover, winter snipe.
Rock soap (Min.), a kind of clay having a smooth, greasy feel, and adhering to the tongue.
Rock sparrow. (Zool.) (a) Any one of several species of Old World sparrows of the genus Petronia, as Petronia stulla, of Europe. (b) A North American sparrow (Pucaea ruficeps).
Rock tar, petroleum.
Rock thrush (Zool.), any Old World thrush of the genus Monticola, or Petrocossyphus; as, the European rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis), and the blue rock thrush of India (Monticola cyaneus), in which the male is blue throughout.
Rock tripe (Bot.), a kind of lichen ({Umbilicaria Dillenii}) growing on rocks in the northen parts of America, and forming broad, flat, coriaceous, dark fuscous or blackish expansions. It has been used as food in cases of extremity.
Rock trout (Zool.), any one of several species of marine food fishes of the genus Hexagrammus, family Chiradae, native of the North Pacific coasts; -- called also {sea trout}, boregat, bodieron, and starling.
Rock warbler (Zool.), a small Australian singing bird (Origma rubricata) which frequents rocky ravines and water courses; -- called also cataract bird.
Rock wren (Zool.), any one of several species of wrens of the genus Salpinctes, native of the arid plains of Lower California and Mexico. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Columba livia'

From: GCIDE

Dove \Dove\ (d[u^]v), n. [OE. dove, duve, douve, AS. d[=u]fe; akin to OS. d[=u]ba, D. duif, OHG. t[=u]ba, G. taube, Icel. d[=u]fa, Sw. dufva, Dan. due, Goth. d[=u]b[=o]; perh. from the root of E. dive.]
1. (Zool.) A pigeon of the genus Columba and various related genera. The species are numerous. [1913 Webster]
Note: The domestic dove, including the varieties called fantails, tumblers, carrier pigeons, etc., was derived from the rock pigeon (Columba livia) of Europe and Asia; the turtledove of Europe, celebrated for its sweet, plaintive note, is Columba turtur or Turtur vulgaris; the ringdove, the largest of European species, is Columba palumbus; the {Carolina dove}, or Mourning dove, is Zenaidura macroura; the sea dove is the little auk (Mergulus alle or {Alle alle}). See Turtledove, Ground dove, and {Rock pigeon}. The dove is a symbol of peace, innocence, gentleness, and affection; also, in art and in the Scriptures, the typical symbol of the Holy Ghost. [1913 Webster]
2. A word of endearment for one regarded as pure and gentle. [1913 Webster]
O my dove, . . . let me hear thy voice. --Cant. ii. 14. [1913 Webster]
3. a person advocating peace, compromise or conciliation rather than war or conflict. Opposite of hawk. [PJC]
Dove tick (Zool.), a mite (Argas reflexus) which infests doves and other birds.
Soiled dove, a prostitute. [Slang] Dovecot