Two patterns of heterothermia were demonstrated for three species of pigeons (Columbidae): Controlled hyperthermia as a physiological strategy of the arid-adapted Australian Diamond Dove and African Namaqua Dove to minimize heat stress when exposed to high temperatures and Torpor as an energy-saving mechanism at low environmental temperatures. This mechanism was most pronounced in the fruit-eating Cloven-feathered Dove (minimal body temperature Tb=25°C, reduction of metabolic rate by 67%). Hence, heterothermia is regarded as a means of adaptation to variable and unpredictable environmental conditions, playing an important role in the ecological radiation of the Columbidae.
