adult

adult in flight European distribution adult birds at rest

Identification

Wood Pigeons can be identified in all plumages by the obvious white marks at the bend of the wings which show up in flight as diagnostic white lines down the middle of the wing. Another good feature is the neat white patch on either side of the neck, although juveniles lack this mark. Compared to other pigeons, the Wood Pigeon is bigger and more ponderous in flight with a deeper belly and a longer tail.

Habitat

Breeds in woodlands, scrub and hedges and increasingly, parks and gardens in towns. Winters in woodlands and often feeds on stubble fields.

Behaviour

Wood Pigeons seem ready to lay their eggs at a moment's notice. A bit of warm weather in February or October and suddenly some pigeons are sitting on eggs again. This opportunistic strategy could prove disastrous if the weather was to turn bad again so the pigeons are also notoriously willing to abandon their eggs at the slightest trouble. This is why their nests are so easily abandoned after being found by birdwatchers; rather than persevere with a site that may be known to a predator they just start again and can be sitting on another pair of eggs within days.

Migration

Northern populations are migratory, moving to France and Iberia for the winter, but temperate birds are resident.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Wood Pigeon is classed as Common: common species, including species that are certain or probable escapees from captivity when occurring in the British Isles. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Langport, Somerset 13/07/2010	Langport, Somerset 13/07/2010	Slimbridge, Glos 01/02/2010	Hindley, Manc'r 03/07/2010	Hindley, Manc'r 03/07/2010
Lakeside CP, Hants 02/07/2010	Crail, Fife 20/06/2010	Warrington, Cheshire 19/06/2010	Summer Leys, Northants 16/06/2010	Stourbridge, W Mids 18/06/2010

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Wood Pigeon breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Azores
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

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Wood Pigeon courtship and mating	Edit this link
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	Our beloved Robin is outdone by the ubiquitous Wood Pigeon.   read on

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