Columba livia

And accordingly, though every fact as to the canine race is parallel to the facts which have been used before to establish the common parentage of the pigeons in Columba livia, all these are thrown over in a moment, and Mr. Darwin, first assuming, without the shadow of proof, that our domestic breeds are descended from different species, proceeds calmly to argue from this, as though it were a demonstrated certainty.

Famous Reviews R. Brimley Johnson 1899

What, then, are we to conclude from this tendency in all the chief domestic races, both when purely bred and more especially when intercrossed, to produce offspring of a blue colour, with the same characteristic marks, varying in the same manner, as in _Columba livia_?

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. Charles Darwin 1845

To sum up: the wild _Columba livia_, including under this name _C. affinis, intermedia_, and the other still more closely-affined geographical races, has a vast range from the southern coast of Norway and the Faroe Islands to the shores of the Mediterranean, to Madeira and the Canary Islands, to

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. Charles Darwin 1845

Fanciers almost unanimously believe that the different races are descended from several wild stocks, whereas most naturalists believe that all are descended from the _Columba livia_ or rock-pigeon.

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. Charles Darwin 1845

So that two black barbs, a red spot, and a white fantail, as the four purely-bred grandparents, produced a bird of the same general blue colour, together with every characteristic mark, as in the wild _Columba livia_.

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. Charles Darwin 1845

We may conclude with confidence that all the domestic races, notwithstanding their great amount of difference, are descended from the _Columba livia_, including under this name certain wild races.

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. Charles Darwin 1845

_Columba livia_, including under this name the three or four wild varieties or sub-species before enumerated.

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. Charles Darwin 1845

"We may conclude with confidence that all the domestic races, notwithstanding their great amount of difference, are descended from the Columba livia, including under this name certain wild races"

More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 Charles Darwin 1845