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Common Wood-Pigeon Was Negatively Associated With Settlements in High Atlas Valleys

Common wood pigeon and rock dove standing near each other
Research · Ecology

A study of pigeons and doves in two valleys of Morocco’s Central High Atlas found clear differences in how five taxa used the mountain landscape. Common wood-pigeons (Columba palumbus) were negatively associated with human settlements, while their habitat use overlapped strongly with rock doves (Columba livia) in conifer forest.

Researchers used observation and listening surveys at 179 points along valley bottoms between about 700 and 2,600 metres above sea level. Surveys covered all four seasons in 2018 and 2019 and produced 1,073 records. Common wood-pigeons and rock doves dominated the observations, and the five taxa showed clear differences in their spatial and seasonal distributions.

Different species used different parts of the landscape

The largest numbers of pigeons and doves were recorded at lower elevations. Common wood-pigeons showed the strongest negative association with human habitation among the patterns highlighted by the authors, but they still overlapped markedly with rock doves in coniferous forest.

Rock doves also shared juniper stands and farmland with the North African turtle-dove subspecies Streptopelia turtur arenicola. Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) were recorded only near settlements and in agricultural fields. A laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis), a species expanding in Morocco, was recorded incidentally at the highest elevation in the study area.

Breeding and feeding habitats may separate the species

The authors interpret the spatial and seasonal pattern as consistent with resource partitioning: the species appear to divide the landscape partly through differences in breeding and feeding habitat. The overlap between common wood-pigeon and rock dove in conifer forest shows that this separation is not complete and changes with habitat type.

The study extends work on Moroccan Columbidae into mountain environments that have received less attention than lowlands. The authors caution that more research is needed to determine exactly how breeding sites and food resources shape these patterns.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mounir, M., Benka, E.-M., Douini, I., Nouri, A., Mansouri, I., Hammada, S., & Dakki, M. (2026). Habitat Preference and Distribution Patterns of Five Columbidae Species in Two Mountainous Valleys of the Central High Atlas (Morocco). African Journal of Ecology, 64(5), e70201.Peer-reviewed primary study. Surveys at 179 points from 700 to 2,600 m produced 1,073 records across four seasons in 2018–2019.

Image: Szczecinolog / Wikimedia Commons — common wood-pigeon and rock dove in Szczecin, Poland, photographed 25 February 2021; representative image of the two dominant study species · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Common Wood-Pigeon Columba palumbus Explore species Rock Dove Columba livia Explore species Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Explore species

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