I occasionally submit photos to Wikipedia. This one was nominated for Featured Picture. A Wikipedia user called 'Sting' had these interesting remarks, and opposed my photo:
Wild-type Rock Pigeons have orange eyes. Pearl eye is a domesticated mutation. That first picture shows pearl eye and is a Santa Barbara feral. The second pic shows a Chequer (English spelling which I use) pattern is also found in escaped domestic pigeon (feral) flocks and is likewise not the original wildtype bar pattern. The current picture in the infobox now is as close to wildtype C livia as we have been able to find so far. I must admit I'm not completely happy with that one either. It looks a bit like it is about to choke on a piece of corn or something? The pic of the pigeon at Fort Lauderdale beach is a little removed from its wild ancestors natural resident range and having wrong pattern, so I can't support it being featured in the Rock Pigeon article. The trouble is a lot of the pictures being used are actually of feral pigeons. Ferals carry mutations that should not occur in the wild flocks in their original habitat. Nowadays however you would be hard pressed to find pure strains of wildtype C livia unless you went out into the wilds of their original habitat. Mixing with escaped domestics has contributed to mutations (selected for by man in domestic stock) now becoming common in wild C livia. Anyhow, I'm raving on! The pics would be fine to be featured as "feral" C livia but don't belong in the infobox of the Rock Pigeon article. I can live with them further down in that article though. I should add that if the right picture of a blue bar feral pigeon is found (having all the right wildtype criteria with no mostly man propagated mutations), then it would pass as wildtype as they are essentially the same species. A picture of a pigeon walking on a concrete path or flying by buildings is not the right setting. Sitting up on rocks on a cliff face as would be expected in native habitat is the shot we are looking for.
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Gmelin, JF, 1789: NOTE(ENG: ""Rock Pigeon"" conflicts with established names in Australia for species of Petrophassa; accept BOU choice of classic ""Rock Dove"" for this species native to British Isles. ""Feral Pigeon"" is available and suitable for world
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Antarctica
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Atlantic Ocean
AU
Australasia (Wallacea (Indonesian islands east of Wallace's line), New Guinea and its islands, Australia, New Zealand and its subantarctic islands, the Solomons, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu)
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Eurasia (Europe, Asia from the Middle East through central Asia north of the Himalayas, Siberia and northern China to Japan)
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