Single Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus in winter snowfall


The Wood Pigeon is generally grey with a pinkish breast and green, white and purple patch on the neck. The tail has a black tip and the wings have a prominent white patch. The eye is a bright yellow. The legs and bill are pink. Juvenile birds are browner and duller and lack the white patch on the neck. They can be confused with the smaller Stock Dove. Wood Pigeons waddle when they walk, which adds to their general appearance of being overweight. In fact, the Wood Pigeon's feathers weigh more than its skeleton and it is Europe's largest pigeon. Wood Pigeons feed on seeds, grain and crops, but will feed on almost anything that is placed on a bird fight the bold white bar across the middle of the wing is very prominent. They also drink a lot, mainly because they do not get sufficient moisture from their food, unlike birds that eat earthworms, etc. An interesting feature about how they drink is that they use their beak like a straw, whereas other birds scoop the water up and throw their heads back to let it flow down their nest is a platform made from twigs and built by both sexes in a tree or on a building. At breeding time Wood Pigeon's can be seen displaying: flies upwards, claps its wings, and then glides downwards with its tail white elliptical eggs are smooth and glossy, and about 41 mm by 30 mm in size. Both parents share the duty of incubating the eggs and feeding the nestlings.


Size: 4896px × 3264px
Location: Norfolk England UK
Photo credit: © Ernie Janes / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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