+Hyde+Park.jpg)
Invasion of the Wood Pigeon
It has been reported that the Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) is now the UK's commonest pigeon (out numbering the feral Domestic pigeon Columba livia) with more than 3.5 million breeding pairs. Whereas the Domestic pigeon receives a bad 'press' as the 'flying rat', Wood pigeons appear to be generally approved. Actually, the former bird (once considered a war 'hero' in its messenger mode) seem to be largely condemned as a result of their tendency to defaecate prominently in white on public buildings which is hardly their fault (although it may result in costly cleaning programmes and damage) as these edifaces are the closest approximation to cliffs on which these domesticated derivatives of the Rock dove can roost. Defaecation in the Wood pigeon appears to be more 'discrete'. The Wood pigeon is now becoming much more common in urban gardens. This pigeon actually only needs trees to rest and roost in so actual 'woods' are not a prerequisite for them. This relative of the dove feeds voraciously on cabbage, sprouts, peas and grain (it will also eat buds, shoots, seeds, nuts and berries). It is said to particularly like Ivy berries. The bird's population increase in towns may basically represent 'over-spill' from increased breeding in the country due to the provision of round-the-year food as a result of recently changed crop patterns. This 'portly' species does not find it easy to feed from bird feeders but apparently makes a good living by foraging for the grains displaced from these devices by smaller birds and from food items scattered on the ground. I also suspect that their size gives them a degree of protection from the attentions of cats, making feeding in such locations less dangerous than for a sparrow or a blackbird.
It has been reported that the Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) is now the UK's commonest pigeon (out numbering the feral Domestic pigeon Columba livia) with more than 3.5 million breeding pairs. Whereas the Domestic pigeon receives a bad 'press' as the 'flying rat', Wood pigeons appear to be generally approved. Actually, the former bird (once considered a war 'hero' in its messenger mode) seem to be largely condemned as a result of their tendency to defaecate prominently in white on public buildings which is hardly their fault (although it may result in costly cleaning programmes and damage) as these edifaces are the closest approximation to cliffs on which these domesticated derivatives of the Rock dove can roost. Defaecation in the Wood pigeon appears to be more 'discrete'. The Wood pigeon is now becoming much more common in urban gardens. This pigeon actually only needs trees to rest and roost in so actual 'woods' are not a prerequisite for them. This relative of the dove feeds voraciously on cabbage, sprouts, peas and grain (it will also eat buds, shoots, seeds, nuts and berries). It is said to particularly like Ivy berries. The bird's population increase in towns may basically represent 'over-spill' from increased breeding in the country due to the provision of round-the-year food as a result of recently changed crop patterns. This 'portly' species does not find it easy to feed from bird feeders but apparently makes a good living by foraging for the grains displaced from these devices by smaller birds and from food items scattered on the ground. I also suspect that their size gives them a degree of protection from the attentions of cats, making feeding in such locations less dangerous than for a sparrow or a blackbird.
No comments:
Post a Comment