Wood pigeon

Description

Woodpigeons are large, robustly built pigeons with relatively long tails and rather small heads. With a body length of 38-43 cm and a wingspan of 68-77 cm, they are the largest pigeons in Central Europe. Sexual dimorphism is weak in terms of size and weight, males are slightly larger and heavier than females. 

In adult woodpigeons, the anterior dorsum and shoulder area are slate gray to grayish brown, the rest of the rump is blue-gray on top. The crop area and breast are diffusely grayish wine-red, becoming lighter toward the belly and very light gray in front of the undertail coverts. The head is blue-gray. On the sides of the neck and nape there is a green metallic shimmering band from top to bottom, then a white patch on the sides of the neck only, and then again on the sides of the neck and nape a shiny purple band. The inner secondary coverts, the large primary coverts, and the alula are slate gray. The outer vanes of the outer secondary coverts are predominantly white and the outermost secondary coverts are completely white; this creates a striking white band on the upper wing. The primaries are blackish gray, the outer vanes of the 1st to 9th primaries have a narrow, sharply defined white fringe, this fringe is only diffusely defined on the 10th (outermost) primaries. The secondaries are predominantly ash-gray. The rectrix are broad blue-gray at the base above, followed by a diffuse light gray subterminal band and a broad black terminal band.

The beak is pink to red at the base, orange to yellowish at the end with a horn-coloured tip. The fleshy membrane over the nostrils is white. The legs and toes are light to dark red. The iris is light yellow.

The sexes are very similar externally. Females show less red on the chest and the white spots on the sides of the neck are slightly smaller. 

Woodpigeons inhabit wooded landscapes of all kinds; if necessary, single trees or bushes are sufficient for a settlement. If these are also missing, the animals breed e.g. in dunes, on beach meadows or in grain fields also on the ground. Breeding in populated areas has been known in Europe since at least 1821; today, woodpigeons breed in avenues, parks and cemeteries, often even in the centers of cities. The breeding sites should not be too far away from suitable feeding habitats; in Europe today, these are mainly agriculturally used areas such as grassland and fields, but also forests and green areas used for breeding. Depending on what is available, foraging flights may be limited to the nest vicinity, but may also occur regularly over distances of 10 to 15 kilometers.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringeltaube). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“licence. Status: 17 December 2021