Woodpigeon

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Woodpigeon, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(III),WBD(I*,II*, III*)

The CBC/BBS trend for this species is of a steady, steep increase since at least the mid 1970s. This has only recently started to level off, with BBS showing a very shallow but statistically significant decline in England over the most recent five year period. Since 1995, BBS has recorded significantly upward trends in the UK, and in England and Northern Ireland separately, but stability in Scotland and Wales. The BBS map of change in relative density between 1994-96 and 2007-09 indicates that increase has been very widespread, with decreases only in parts of northeastern Scotland. Breeding success was increasing strongly during the 1970s and 1980s but is currently stable or in shallow decline. There has been an increase across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population

+152% increase (1967–2022)

Woodpigeons occupy virtually every 10-km square within Britain and Ireland with the exception of the higher mountain zones of Scotland and some northern and western islands offering little woodland cover. The highest densities occur in the arable eastern lowland regions of both Britain and Ireland, with marginally lower abundance in the more heavily wooded regions of southeast England and still lower abundance in pastoral areas.

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Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	2752
% occupied in breeding season	91
No. occupied in winter	2646
% occupied in winter	88

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in	Deciduous Wood
Also common in	Scrub, Arable Farmland, Pasture Farmland, Villages, Towns

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Relatively few gains and losses have occurred in either season and these are mainly along the northwestern periphery of the range.

Woodpigeons are very widely recorded, present on over 60% of complete lists in all weeks of the year.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	17 years 8 months 19 days (set in 1999)
Typical Lifespan	3 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.607±0.016
Juvenile Survival	0.52

Wing Length	Adults	252.2±8.2 | Range 238–265mm, N=1881
	Juveniles	239.9±16.1 | Range 215-257mm, N=408
	Males	258.7±7.3 | Range 243–268mm, N=75
	Females	250.4±8 | Range 235–260mm, N=84

Body Weight	Adults	507±71.4 | Range 400–613g, N=1180
	Juveniles	402±77 | Range 295–548g, N=314
	Males	529±72.7 | Range 420–620g, N=38
	Females	488±76.5 | Range 269–580g, N=55

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	F
Field Codes	2-letter: WP | 5-letter code: WOODP | Euring: 6700

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

There is some evidence that the increase in this species has been due to the spread of intensive winter cereal and rape cultivation, probably by increasing food availability over winter, reflecting the species' ability to subsist on green vegetation, unlike other granivores.

Further information on causes of change

There are few studies specifically examining demographic and ecological drivers of the long-term increase in this species but the spread of intensive arable cultivation, especially of oilseed rape and winter-sown cereal, which has been shown to reduce overwinter mortality, may explain the rise in numbers (Gibbons et al. 1993, Inglis et al. 1997). Inglis et al. (1997) conducted fieldwork to provide good evidence that, in their study area in Cambridgeshire, the overwintering population size was determined by the area of oilseed rape. Inglis et al. state that, since the introduction of oilseed rape, the number of fledged young produced has a more important effect upon the Woodpigeon population size than does overwinter mortality from starvation, i.e. winter food availability no longer limits the population.

The number of Woodpigeons feeding in gardens has also increased (Glue 1993, 1995, 1997, Plummer et al. 2019), suggesting that this species may benefit from the trend of increasing urban feeding sites, although there is no direct evidence to support this.

The species is adaptable and O'Connor & Shrubb (1986) found that the breeding season had advanced in response to the switch to autumn sowing, and thus earlier ripening, of cereals, with more pairs nesting in May and June and relatively fewer during July-September. Climate change may have also permitted earlier nesting. A trend toward earlier nesting could have led CBC, with its fieldwork finishing in early July, to overestimate the rate of increase (Marchant et al. 1990). Newly available data indicate, however, that the species is now nesting almost three weeks later, on average, than it did in the 1960s.

Information about conservation actions

The Woodpigeon population in the UK increased from the 1970s until around 2010 and has since been stable; hence specific conservation action to benefit this species is not currently required. Conservation actions targeted at declining farmland bird species which increase the availability of seeds in winter may also benefit this species.