''Petrophassa'', commonly known as the rock pigeons, is a small genus of doves in the family Columbidae native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and similar to

bronzewing pigeon The bronzewing pigeons are a group of pigeons native to Australia which have distinctive iridescent wing patches that appear bronze or green-brown in dull light, but flash in many bright colours in the sun as the bird moves. Three species are alw ...

s. The genus was introduced in 1841 by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould with the

white-quilled rock pigeon The white-quilled rock pigeon (''Petrophassa albipennis'') is a dark brown rock pigeon with a white patch on its wing. It has distinctive pale lines across its face curving above and below its eye. It is a species of bird in the family Columbidae ...

(''Petrophassa albipennis'') as the type species. The genus name is a portmanteau of the Ancient Greek words ''petros,'' meaning "rock", and ''phassa,'' meaning "pigeon". The genus contains two species: * Chestnut-quilled rock pigeon, ''P. rufipennis'' *

White-quilled rock pigeon The white-quilled rock pigeon (''Petrophassa albipennis'') is a dark brown rock pigeon with a white patch on its wing. It has distinctive pale lines across its face curving above and below its eye. It is a species of bird in the family Columbidae ...

, ''P. albipennis'' They are not closely related to ''

Columba livia The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon ( also ; ''Columba livia'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domes ...

'', the rock dove (also called rock pigeon), a species which includes the domestic and feral pigeons as well as the wild species native to Europe, North Africa and Asia.

References

Bird genera {{Columbiformes-stub