Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758

≈44 cmLength75 cmWingspan490 gWeight

It is a large gray pigeon with white on the neck and wings and a pink breast.

Busiest months: April–May · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Looks like Stock Dove, Rock Dove

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Green and white patches on side of neck
White on wings
A single pink patch on breast
Eyes pale yellow

Male, female and young

Juvenile lacks the white neck patches, which develop at about six months of age; bill grayer and overall plumage paler gray.

Voice

Monotonous five-syllable cooing, often rendered as “Take two cows, Teddy”.

Similar species

Stock Dove

Common Wood Pigeon is larger, with white on the neck and wings and pale yellow eyes; Stock Dove has dark gray-brown to black eyes.

Rock Dove

Common Wood Pigeon is larger, with white on the neck and wings and pale yellow eyes; Rock Dove has orange-red eyes.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April–May · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Common Wood Pigeon has been recorded at 1,377 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 76 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom8,333 records
Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom7,402 records
Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom5,418 records

More places

Beddington FarmlandsUnited Kingdom4,697 records
WWT London Wetland CentreUnited Kingdom3,824 records
Spurn Bird Observatory Recording AreaUnited Kingdom3,813 records
Parque El Retiro-MadridSpain3,616 records
Cley & Salthouse Marshes NWT NR – Cley Marshes including Hides and Visitor CentreUnited Kingdom3,563 records
Walthamstow WetlandsUnited Kingdom3,531 records
Rutland WaterUnited Kingdom3,477 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Kingdom Spain Portugal Germany France Czechia Sweden Poland

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), also known simply as the wood pigeon, is a large pigeon native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the genus Columba, which includes closely related species such as the rock dove (Columba livia). It has a flexible diet, feeding mainly on plant material, including cereals, and is therefore considered an agricultural pest.

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