1. Home
  2. Home
  3. Species Profiles
  4. Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)

Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)

In many farming districts of Europe, a flock of Wood Pigeons feeding on a field is a familiar sight. The birds stick close together as they forage, the flock often assuming an oval shape as all the members advance slowly forward together, picking up their beloved grain. Within the flock is a rigid hierarchy; the dominant birds stay in the centre, enjoying a faster feeding rate by having plenty of bodies between them and potential danger; subordinate birds march along on the edges of the group and at the back, where they are more likely to become victims of a strike.

The Wood Pigeon also roosts in groups, gathering in trees and shrubs to spend the night. When disturbed a bird often clatters away noisily, leaving behind a displaced feather or two to float to the ground. Although this looks like a panic response it isn’t; the sudden noise is intentional, designed to startle a predator and give the bird half a second’s extra time to get away.

If any bird leads an easy life, a Wood Pigeon breeding near a farming area would probably count as one that does. It can acquire most of what it needs in a few short foraging sessions, of which the main one is in late afternoon, prior to roosting. It eats all kinds of foodstuffs, including many that man has thoughtfully provided for it, most birds living on just a few main items at a given time of year. Wood Pigeons can eat seeds, leaves, fruits, buds and flowers. Among its favourite tipples are wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and turnip. Not surprisingly many farmers consider these birds to be a pest, and something like 9.5 million are shot every year in Europe.

But the Wood Pigeon is not only found in rural areas. Its exceptional adaptability has enabled it, since about 1800, to colonise towns and urban areas, where it eats bread and all kinds of scraps in addition to seeds and other grain. It has moved here from the woodland edge, and most nests are still found on the branches and forks of various types of trees. These nests are flimsy, cost-cutting structures made from sticks collected on the ground; they are strung together as if the birds were trying to follow incomprehensible instructions from the DIY shop, and it’s often possible to see the eggs placed on the end result from below.

Wherever it occurs the Wood Pigeon’s advertising call, five coos on a quick-slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm, is a very common, atmospheric sound. Equally familiar is the male’s roller-coaster display flight, in which the bird rises up at a shallow angle, claps its wings loudly together, stalls as if shot and then glides down with wings and tail spread. The manoeuvre follows a straight line, and it may be repeated up to five times in succession. The bird lands, lifts its tail up and down slowly, and then tends to resume cooing.

Wood Pigeons may breed at almost any time of year, but their peak season tends to be July, just in time for the harvest.