Woodpigeon

The woodpigeon, or ring dove (Columba palumbus) is the largest and most common of the four pigeon/dove species found wild in the UK. It is resident throughout the whole of the British Isles, although migrant in some parts of Europe from winter quarters near the Mediterranean.

It is typically the pigeon of the countryside rather than the town or city, although woodpigeons are also seen in urban parks and gardens.

Appearance

It measures around 40 centimetres (15.5 inches) in length, with a deep chest, fairly long tail and a small head. The upperparts and wings are grey-brown, with darker colouring on the outer parts of the wings and the lower tail. The head and rump are grey-blue and there is a purplish sheen and a noticeable white patch on the neck. There is also a white stripe on the wings that is very visible in flight. The chest is reddish-purple. Males and females look very similar.

Behaviour

Woodpigeons are rapid flyers with the wings swept back and beaten vigorously so that they clap together. When a woodpigeon is startled into flight the person (or dog!) who caused it to take off may be startled as well! In display, the male woodpigeon flies straight up, claps its wings and glides back down.

The song of the woodpigeon is very distinctive, with a definite emphasis on the second note of each phrase and a final “coda”. It has been likened to: “Take TWO books with you, take TWO books with you, dolt!”

Apart from feeding off crops in fields and gardens woodpigeons will also raid bird tables, where their large size and appetite makes them unpopular with other birds and human suppliers of seeds and nuts. Bird lovers who are troubled by visiting woodpigeons are advised to erect a roofed bird table or supply food for smaller birds in feeders that woodpigeons cannot feed from – although they will try! Although woodpigeons are mainly vegetarian, they will sometimes eat invertebrates.

Breeding

Nesting begins in early Spring, the nest being a loosely put together collection of twigs, often at the junction of branch and trunk of a conifer. However, nests are also built in bushes or on the ground.

The clutch is of only two eggs, but two or even three broods may be raised in a season. Both birds share the incubating, for around 18 days, and both feed the young from regurgitated food that is sometimes termed “pigeon milk”. The chicks leave the nest at around 25 days but are only fully fledged at 35 days. In the meantime they perch close to the nest and continue to be fed by the parent birds.

Conservation

Woodpigeons are notorious for damaging growing crops, be they cereals or vegetables, and are therefore often the target of a farmer’s shotgun. Being highly edible does not help their survival, either! That said, their numbers show little sign of declining.

© John Welford