The blue rock pigeon is a common bird, as familiar as a crow or a house sparrow to us. It is bluish-grey in colour, with a shining metallic green, purple and magenta shades on the neck and upper breast. The wild variety of birds is pale grey in colour and their wings will have two black bars on them. The domesticated and stray birds have varying colour patterns on their plumage.
One peculiarity of the rock pigeon is the way it drinks water. These birds can actually dip their bill in water and simply drink water, continuously. But often, what they do is to take a small sip and tilt the head backwards to swallow the water. Most birds do this repeatedly when drinking.
These birds can be found in cultivations, rocky and urban areas. They feed on grains, often in large numbers, as a flock. If a group of pigeons are disturbed, they will fly up together, producing a noisy clapping sound which our movies have often pictured on screen dramatically. They build nests using twigs and straw, often in cavities or on tall rocks. They tend to live in colonies. These birds are abundant in India. It can also be seen in Europe and Africa.
