Wood pigeon: breeding season, food, appearance & Co

Would you like to know what wood pigeon eggs look like, where the bird builds its nest and how to identify young wood pigeons? You can find out this and more in our profile.

The Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) is also called wood pigeon to distinguish it from the usual street pigeon. Wood pigeons are very widespread and common breeding birds throughout Europe. Easily recognizable by the white elements on the neck and wings, the pigeon birds can be observed in forests as well as in settlements and large cities. A special spectacle is offered during the breeding season, when the male with fast, clapping wings from the treetops and then gliding towards the females presents. You can find out how to recognize the song of the wood pigeon without a doubt, what their young animals look like and much more here in our large profile.

Wood Pigeon: Wanted Poster

size	Approximately 38-45cm
Weight	Up to 600g
breeding season	February - November
lifespan	About 15 years
habitat	forests, parks and gardens
feed preference	seeds, nuts, buds and berries
threats	decline in food and habitat

How to recognize the wood pigeon

Wood pigeons are very easy to identify. The head, back and wing covers of the birds are uniformly blue-grey. Its chest is a soft pink and the belly fades into a light beige-brown. When sitting, the pigeon bird's most recognizable sign is a large white patch on its neck, which can be seen well from a distance.

In flight, wide white stripes also appear on the wings of the wood pigeon, which serve as a further distinguishing feature. Unfortunately, male and female wood pigeons cannot be distinguished visually.

How does the wood pigeon song sound?

The song of the wood pigeon is one of the most memorable bird songs ever. With a dull, rhythmic cooing, they sing a five-syllable verse that can be heard well from afar: "Dhu-dhu-dhu... dhu-dhu".

You can listen to the song of the wood pigeon here:

notice: One can actually only confuse the song of the wood pigeon with that of the collared pigeon. This also common native pigeon species has a similar, cooing song, but it consists of only three syllables instead of five.

How do you recognize a wood pigeon fledgling?

As soon as young wood pigeons have left the nest and are fully feathered, they already look very similar to their parents. The grey-blue coloring and the characteristic white wing bars clearly distinguish them as wood pigeons. What is still missing, however, is the white neck spot, which only becomes apparent a few weeks later.

What do wood pigeon eggs look like?

Wood pigeons lay about 4 centimeters large, monochromatic white eggs. Clutches almost always consist of two eggs laid in a nest made of loose twigs. In rare cases only a single egg is laid.

Which habitat does the wood pigeon prefer?

Wood pigeons are extremely widespread and basically settle wherever there are trees. Potential habitats include dense forests, parks and gardens as well as individual groups of trees in the landscape, cemeteries or avenues.

Where does the wood pigeon build its nest?

The wood pigeon builds its nest in trees, hedges and other vegetation. In cities, ledges of buildings are also used as nesting sites. Both breeding partners participate in building the nest itself, whereby the male mainly brings nesting material and the female weaves the fine twigs into a nest. However, the nests are not built with particular care - they are often so thin that you can see the eggs from below.

When is the wood pigeon breeding season?

Wood pigeons have an unusually long breeding season. This extends from February to November and can contain up to four broods. The individual clutches are incubated for about 16 days before the young birds hatch. The young are then fed in the nest for about four weeks until they are fully developed. After that, they are very soon on their own, because their parents are already dedicating themselves to the next brood.

Where does the wood pigeon spend the winter?

Our native wood pigeons also spend the winter in their breeding grounds and can therefore be observed with us all year round. During this time, they often form larger swarms and migrate through the wintry landscape together. However, their fellow species from northern Europe flee their homeland in the cold season and move south.

Support the wood pigeon in the garden: That's how it works

The wood pigeon is also a frequent guest in domestic gardens, settles on trees and even comes to feeding stations in winter. Find out here how you can prepare your garden for the feathered visitors.

What do wood pigeons eat?

Wood pigeons are almost exclusively vegetarian and look for food on the ground and in trees or bushes. They use leaf and flower buds, berries, acorns, beechnuts and grain seeds. Occasionally, however, they also eat animal food – in the form of insects, snails or worms. The wood pigeons also feed their young with a protein and fat-rich crop milk that the bird parents produce themselves.

Wood pigeons can also be observed at feeding stations, especially in winter. There they help themselves to grain or litter fodder. You can therefore also offer the garden birds ours Plantura litter for wild birds, which contains lots of high-quality ingredients that provide energy for the cold winter months. Simply put the food in a dry place in the garden or on the balcony and support wood pigeons and numerous other wild birds.

Which nesting aids are suitable for wood pigeons?

Wood pigeons are free breeders and therefore cannot be impressed with classic nesting boxes. Suitable nesting sites in gardens, on the other hand, are tall trees or hedges that should not be thinned out too much to provide cover. And if you happen to have a pile of brushwood left over from the last hedge trimming, feel free to leave it in the garden leave - this is how you offer nesting material for wood pigeons and at the same time give one to many other garden visitors Habitat.

How can you additionally support the wood pigeon?

To produce the crop milk that the wood pigeons feed their young with, they need a lot of drinking water. With a water point in the garden you can therefore support the pigeon birds. A pond, a stream or even a simple bird bath are often visited. However, always ensure that your water points are cleaned regularly, otherwise diseases can spread.

Incidentally, the wood pigeon is not under special protection and can even be hunted here. For years, German nature conservation organizations have been campaigning for the wood pigeon to be released from hunting law and included in nature conservation law.

The song of the wood pigeon has a high recognition value and is therefore a perfect introduction to learning bird songs. Other species with a distinctive song, which you can also get to know in our detailed species portraits, are, for example, the chiffchaff, the blackbird or the great tit.