Common Wood Pigeon - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Richard Ford
Hampshire, UK, February 2004

Columba palumbus

Identification

Immature
Photo by tom dunlop
Saltwell Park, Gateshead, Durham, May 2014

40-42cm (15¾-16½ in)

• Grey body
• Pink breast
• Green, white and purple neck patch
• White wing patch
• Black tipped tail
• Bright yellow iris
• Pink legs and bill
  

Juvenile: browner, duller, no neck patch.

Distribution

Europe, North Africa and Asia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Photo by IanF
Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park, Billingham, Cleveland, May 2009

There are 6 subspecies^[1]:

• C. p. azorica:

• Eastern and central Azores

• C. p. maderensis:

• Formerly mountains of Madeira. Probably extinct

• C. p. excelsa:

• Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

• C. p. palumbus:

• Europe to western Siberia, eastern Turkey and Iraq; winters to northern Africa

• C. p. iranica:

• Southern Transcaspia to Iran

• C. p. casiotis:

• Kazakstan to northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, north-western India and Nepal

Habitat

Parks, gardens, woods, and farmland.

Behaviour

Subspecies iranica
Photo by Houman Doroudi (Tormtay)
Hircainian Jungle, National Botanical Garden of Iran, Tehran, Iran, May 2016

Diet

The diet includes grain, crops and seeds.

Breeding

Both sexes build the platform nest from twigs in a bush or shrub, particularly in evergreens. The 2 glossy white eggs are incubated by both sexes for 17 days; the young fledge 29-35 days later. There can be up to 3 clutches. Breeding can start as early as March and continue until November.

Vocalisation

Call: ru-hoo ru ru-hoo. <flashmp3>Columba palumbus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. British Garden Birds
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2017)
4. Wikipedia
5. Birdwatching

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Common Wood Pigeon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Wood_Pigeon

External Links

Search for photos of Common Wood Pigeon in the gallery

Search for videos of Common Wood Pigeon on BirdForum TV