Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) [XC814313]
by David Bissett from Pau Velho, Praia da Vit\u00f3ria, Azores, Portugal (song, wing beat)
Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) [XC814311]
by Carlos Pereira from Pau Velho, Praia da Vit\u00f3ria, Azores, Portugal (song)
Nest
Flimsy platform of twigs, usually high up in a tree.
Eggs (Guide)
2; slightly glossy, white; oval-ellipsoidal. Incubation: 17 - 18 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
Related to Bolle's Pigeon (Columba bollii) and Madeira Laurel-pigeon (Columba trocaz) of Macaronesia (eastern Atlantic islands) and Afep Pigeon (Columba unicincta) of Africa. Probably also to Laurel Pigeon (Columba junoniae) of Canary Is. Subspecies iranica intergrades with nominate in eastern Turkey and Transcaucasia.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
azorica Hartert, 1905 - Eastern and central Azores.
maderensis Tschusi, 1904 - Montane forests of Madeira (probably extinct).
excelsa (Bonaparte, 1856) - Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 - Europe east to western Siberia and Iraq. Winters south to northern Africa.
iranica (Zarudny, 1910) - Southern Transcaspia, northern and western Iran.
casiotis (Bonaparte, 1854) - Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, north-western India and Nepal.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7