Editing Columbidae (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
Pigeons and doves are distributed everywhere on Earth, having adapted to most terrestrial habitats available on the planet, except for the driest areas of the [[Sahara Desert]]<!-- and [[Atacama Desert|Atacama]]?-->, [[Antarctica]] and [[List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands|its surrounding islands]], and the high [[Arctic]].<ref name=":02"/> They have colonised most of the world's [[oceanic island]]s, reaching eastern [[Polynesia]] and the [[Chatham Islands]] in the [[Pacific]], [[Mauritius]], the [[Seychelles]] and [[Réunion]] in the [[Indian Ocean]], and the [[Azores]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

Columbid species may be [[Arboreal locomotion|arboreal]], [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]], or semi-terrestrial. They inhabit [[savanna]], [[grassland]], [[shrubland]], [[desert]], [[Temperate climate|temperate]] woodland and forest, [[tropical rainforest]]s, [[Mangrove|mangrove forest]], and even the barren sands and gravels of [[atoll]]s.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/pigeons-and-doves-columbidae|title=Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae) – Dictionary definition of Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

Some species have large natural ranges. The [[eared dove]] ranges across the entirety of South America from Colombia to [[Tierra del Fuego]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Zenaida_auriculata/|title=''Zenaida auriculata'' (eared dove)|website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> the [[Eurasian collared dove]] has a massive (if discontinuous) distribution from [[Great Britain|Britain]] across Europe, the Middle East, India, Pakistan and China,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://natureconservation.in/eurasian-collared-dove-streptopelia-decaocto-complete-detail/|title=Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto'') detail|website=natureconservation.in|date=5 February 2019}}</ref> and the [[laughing dove]] across most of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as India, Pakistan, and the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.in/detail/photo/laughing-dove-this-bird-is-native-to-sub-high-res-stock-photography/140591245|title=Laughing Dove This Bird Is Native To Subsaharan Africa The Middle East And India Where It Is Known As The Little Brown Dove It Inhabits Scrubland And Feeds On Grass Seeds And Grain Stock Photo|website=www.gettyimages.in|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425025009/http://www.gettyimages.in/detail/photo/laughing-dove-this-bird-is-native-to-sub-high-res-stock-photography/140591245|archive-date=25 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When including human-mediated introductions, the largest range of any species is that of the [[rock dove]], also known as the common pigeon.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.beautyofbirds.com/rockpigeons.html|title=Rock Pigeons (''Columba livia'') aka Feral or Domestic Pigeons|website=www.beautyofbirds.com|date=16 September 2021 }}</ref> This species had a large natural distribution from Britain and Ireland to northern Africa, across Europe, [[Arabia]], [[Central Asia]], India, the [[Himalayas]] and up into China and Mongolia.<ref name=":4" /> The range of the species increased dramatically upon domestication, as the species went [[Introduced species|feral]] in cities around the world.<ref name=":4" /> The common pigeon is currently resident across most of North America, and has established itself in cities and urban areas in South America, sub-Saharan Africa, [[Southeast Asia]], Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.<ref name=":4" /> A 2020 study found that the east coast of the United States includes two pigeon genetic megacities, in New York and Boston, and observes that the birds do not mix together.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sokol|first=Joshua|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/science/pigeons-boston-new-york.html|title=New York and Boston Pigeons Don't Mix|date=2020-04-23|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-27|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

As well as the rock dove, several other species of pigeon have become established outside of their natural range after escaping captivity, and other species have increased their natural ranges due to habitat changes caused by human activity.<ref name="HBW2"/>

Other species of Columbidae have tiny, restricted distributions, usually seen on small islands, such as the [[whistling dove]], which is [[endemism|endemic]] to the tiny [[Kadavu Island]] in Fiji,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beautyofbirds.com/whistlingdoves.html|title=Whistling Fruit Doves|website=www.beautyofbirds.com|date=16 September 2021 }}</ref> the [[Caroline ground-dove|Caroline ground dove]], restricted to two islands, [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] and [[Pohnpei]] in the [[Caroline Islands]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMGkAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA406|title=Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World|last=Gibbs|first=David|date=2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4081-3555-6}}</ref> and the [[Grenada dove]], which is only found on the island of [[Grenada]] in the [[Caribbean]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/grenada-dove-leptotila-wellsi/details|title=Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi) – BirdLife species factsheet|website=datazone.birdlife.org}}</ref>

Some continental species also have tiny distributions, such as the [[black-banded fruit dove]], which is restricted to a small area of the [[Arnhem Land]] of Australia,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lK_tb2TICq8C&pg=PA60|title=Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae)|last1=Schodde|first1=Richard|last2=Mason|first2=I. J.|date=1997|publisher=Csiro Publishing|isbn=978-0-643-06037-1}}</ref> the [[Somali pigeon]], found only in a tiny area of northern Somalia,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.hbw.com/species/somali-pigeon-columba-oliviae|title=Somali Pigeon (Columba oliviae)|journal=Birds of the World|date=4 March 2020|last1=Baptista|first1=Luis F.|last2=Trail|first2=Pepper W.|last3=Horblit|first3=H. M.|last4=Sharpe|first4=Christopher J.|last5=Boesman|first5=Peter F. D.|last6=Garcia|first6=Ernest|editor1-first=Josep|editor1-last=Del Hoyo|editor2-first=Andrew|editor2-last=Elliott|editor3-first=Jordi|editor3-last=Sargatal|editor4-first=David|editor4-last=Christie|editor5-first=Eduardo|editor5-last=De Juana|doi=10.2173/bow.sompig1.01|s2cid=240954419}}</ref> and [[Moreno's ground dove]], endemic to the area around [[Salta]] and [[San Miguel de Tucumán|Tucuman]] in northern Argentina.<ref name="HBW2"/>