rock dove
rock dove — noun
1. a gray-blue wild bird in the pigeon family, originally from Eurasia, from which
a gray-blue wild bird in the pigeon family, originally from Eurasia, from which domestic pigeons and many city pigeons developed.
A rock dove nested high on the cliff above the harbor.
wild bird nesting on rock
The museum label explained that the city pigeon is descended from the rock dove.
ancestor of city pigeons
Mina compared the rock dove in the guidebook with the pigeons near the train station.
Several rock doves circled the old stone tower before settling on the ledge.
Researchers tracked rock dove populations on islands and in coastal towns.
- rock pigeon
another common name for the same species
- pigeon
the everyday broader word, especially for city birds
- feral pigeon
used for free-living city pigeons descended from this species
文法句型
a rock dove
rock doves
rock dove populations
用法筆記
This is a precise bird name. In everyday city life, people usually say 'pigeon' or 'city pigeon' unless they are talking about the species more carefully.
常見錯誤
Do not treat 'rock dove' as a kind of stone. It is a bird name, and the plural is 'rock doves'.