Guide to the
Woodpigeon

Our handy Woodpigeon guide will help you get to know this garden bird better.

Both adult and juvenile Woodpigeons are grey overall, with a pinkish breast, black outer wings and a broad black band at the end of the tail. Males and females look alike, and adults can be told from other pigeons by the large white patches on the sides of the neck, below smudge of iridescent green. Juveniles lack the white neck patches.

The scientific name of the Woodpigeon is Columba palumbus. ‘Columba’ comes from Latin, and means a pigeon or dove. ‘Palumbus’ also comes from the Latin word ‘palumbes’ which means the Woodpigeon.

A distinctive, cooing song with five distinct notes. It can be heard throughout the spring.

Seeds, leaves and fruit (especially ivy berries), plus buds and various agricultural crops.

Woodpigeons are able to take in so much food in a sitting because they can store it in a crop, which is a muscular pouch in the upper chest. The weight of food in a Woodpigeon’s crop is often over 70g,and weighs of up to 155g have been recorded, including crops containing 725 ivy berries, 758 wheat grains, 30 cherries and 38 acorns. Once all this food has been taken on board the bird has to sit and rest while digestion takes place; this is why Woodpigeons spend much time perched and inactive.

In order to digest this food, food passes from the crop to the gizzard, a muscular organ that grinds down plant material. Woodpigeons will swallow pieces of grit to help with this process, and there is some indication that they eat more grit when they are mainly feeding on hard seeds, and less when they are eating soft fruits or leaves.

According to statistics from 2016, there were 5.1 million pairs of Woodpigeons in Britain and 5.2 pairs of Woodpigeons in the UK.

Mainly Sparrowhawks.

The typical lifespan for a Woodpigeon is three years. However, the current longevity record for this species is 17 years and nine months.

According to BTO Garden BirdWatch data that has been collected weekly since 1995 Woodpigeons are most frequently seen in gardens in June, in around 81% of gardens.