Morfometría de las palomas semidomésticas (Columba livia var.) de la ciudad de Barcelona

Abstract

Morfometry of Feral Pigeons (Columba livia Var.) from the city of Barcelona (NE. Spain)
Morfo-biometric analysis of Barcelona Feral Pigeons was carried out on 541 individuals from 22 different sample points. 127 of them were sexed by visual inspection of gonads. Data on morfometry (10 variables), sexual and age rates, breeding and moult process, and plumages are given. Discriminant Analysis applied to sexual diferences gave a Wilk lambda of 0.769, classifying correctly 73% of the individuals. Iris and pupil colour and cere were valuable characteristics when assessing the age. “Blue-Bar” was the most frequent colour plumage. Sexual rate did not deviate significatively from 1:1, and breeding rate was low. The population of pigeons in Barcelona has a low growth rate, probably due to space saturation.