Wild wood pigeon history (otherwise common pigeon) is well known to hunters. It is of interest as an object of sports, and the usual bird hunting. Extracted bird is large and very tasty meat. Interest in these forest dwellers arose relatively recently: before the Internet era, only ornithologists were interested in them.
Wood Pigeon: Description
The name of the wild wild leg is Columba palumbus.
A man in the street without prompts cannot distinguish a wild pigeon from a usual urban one. But the wood pigeon is a large enough (even for such a large bird) pigeon, its dimensions are impressive: body length is up to forty-five centimeters, weight is on average from seven hundred to nine hundred grams, wingspan is almost seventy centimeters. Males and females weigh almost equally, although the male looks much larger.
Like all representatives of this order (pigeon-like), wood pigeon is painted in gray-blue (gray) color.
Its characteristic features are clearly visible in flight: on the wings there is a white wide chevron (strip), the top of the tail is dark, then a white edging follows. In contrast to the city brother, the wild pigeon does not have transverse stripes of a dark shade on the wings.
In the photo of the wood pigeon, the color of the breast is clearly visible - wine-pink, in front with greenish tint.
On the sides of the neck are two large white (sometimes cream) spots.
The paws are pink-red, the beak is yellow.
The color of males is brighter, the spots on the neck are much larger. Females are sleeker than males, which look somewhat heavier and larger.
In favorable conditions, the wood pigeon can live up to sixteen years.
Wood Pigeon: Spread
Vituteni lives in temperate latitudes of Europe and Asia, and is distributed in the northern part of West Africa, where the northern individuals arrive for wintering, and the locals live permanently. In Russia, it has never been seen north of the sixty-second parallel, both in the European part and beyond the Urals. Habitat is limited to the south of the fifty-second parallel (to the borders with Ukraine).
Settles most often in coniferous or mixed forests, preferring their outskirts. For nesting it can choose both separate groups of coniferous trees, and protective forest belts along the slopes, sometimes even settling in quiet parks, farm and private gardens.
In the southern regions of the European part of the Russian Federation, the pigeon flyite can arrive for wintering, sometimes lingering there for further migrations. In the Asian southern part of Russia does not settle.
Time and method of nesting necks
At the end of March, these wild pigeons fly in flocks from the south, and by the end of September (mid-October) they fly for wintering.
Males in a fortnight after arrival (in the middle of April) choose a plot for themselves and start looking for friends. The tokening looks like this: cooing during the flight, alternately taking off and slow lowering-planning (“slide”). Having made several such alternating flights, the pigeon flyite returns to the so-called perch (the lexicon of hunters).
A pair of pigeons immediately begins to make a nest, placing it in the forks of large horizontal branches of spruce or pine, slightly to the side of the trunk at a height of two to five (less often eight to ten) meters.
The nyakhir nest is a loose translucent platform from five to twenty centimeters high and up to thirty centimeters in diameter with a weak tray (about five to eight centimeter deep, up to fourteen in diameter). Material for the construction are thin branches of birch, alder, spruce and pine. In some cases, the structures are so fragile that the eggs simply fall through the rods, becoming prey to all sorts of predators.
The female lays only two eggs (their size is larger than that of ordinary urban pigeons), the egg weight is nineteen grams, up to three centimeters in diameter, length is about four., The shell color is pure white with yellowness on the lumen.
The first clutch is almost always at the end of April (in the early warm spring), more often - in the middle of May, the second - in July.
It is mostly female that sits on the nest, males can substitute it for feeding time. Hatching eggs - from seventeen to nineteen days.
Males during the incubation by females of clutches can be combined into flocks for collective feeding. They fly to the grain fields, then return one by one to the nesting sites.
In August, females, chicks of the first (young) and second broods unite in flocks (sometimes up to four hundred individuals) for feeding, and then migration.
Relatively large juvenile chicks in the nest spend up to thirty-five to forty days.
Both parents are busy feeding the children, bringing in the goiter first softened grains (“bird's milk”), and then other varied foods.
Nestlings appear almost naked, a gentle down - the base of the plumage does not grow quickly, feather pegs first appear on the wings, then fly feathers grow, and only the rest of the plumage follows. The color of the chicks becomes gently gray.
And on the eighth day there is the ability to see.
By the fortieth day, the chicks are already on the wing and can provide themselves with food.
Almost half of all females after the first laying are ready for this moment to the second.
Nutcrackers
The craw of a wild pigeon is quite large; sometimes hunters with gutting took out almost a whole dish of cereal seeds.
The basis of the diet upon arrival (in early spring) is young buds, seeds of conifers.
In the middle of May, the pigeon vitoo will eat sprouted spring grains, sometimes (with a large number) it can cause damage.
By the beginning and middle of summer, ripening berries, seeds of wild herbs, and fruits of stone trees become the objects of food for pigeons.
By autumn, wild pigeons begin to peck up young bushes, mountain ash, currants, wild rose, bird cherry trees from the bushes, and do not disdain the carrion. Very rarely eat worms and caterpillars.
Very fond of pecking grain. They fly in whole flocks to the place of sorting and transshipment of cereals, peck as much as possible - how many can be placed in the goiter. Then fly away one by one.
Behavior features
Pigeon vituty - extremely cautious bird.
Like all wild representatives of birds, having an excellent ear, does not allow a person closer than fifty, more often - a hundred meters.
When a person approaches a nest, the cooing bird immediately goes silent.
It may fly close to a person if he is wearing a camouflage suit, but his face must be completely covered.
You can take a photo of the pigeon and the video if you disguise in the vicinity of the nesting site in advance or when you follow him, find the perch and sit nearby.
Activity
Behavioral addictions pigeons due to the ways and diet.
In the spring, the bird is losing weight, so its diet is poor - the germinating seeds of cereals, buds, last year's carrion. Weight loss - almost three to four percent (up to thirty-five grams).
By mid-end of summer, the wild pigeon again begins to gain weight, eating fruits, seeds of wild and field grasses (loves clover very much), and then, flying out in flocks, and grain and legumes.
The feeding of the vyhirey takes place in the morning and late afternoon (some occur at twilight).
The wild pigeon lives almost on schedule: sleep, morning feeding, watering, returning to the nesting site, evening meals.
Females behave more actively, their life processes are faster than in males. They spend less time on feeding, watering, cleaning plumage. But in the nest with chicks, they spend almost four times more time.
Ornithologists could not explain the constant morning and evening low cooing of males. Today, the reason for this behavior is attributed by scientists to the tactics of communication in this way with their relatives, who have flown together with the flock since wintering. Birds settle at distances of up to fifty meters, although in conditions of great crowding they can build nests at a distance of only twenty meters.
The period of sexual activity ends in birds at the end of summer, this contributes to the set of maximum weight.
Human intervention in the life of birds
A dove is a creature loving order and silence. It would seem that urbanization leads to a reduction in the number of the rural population, which could bring silence to the forests. But the development of hiking and long-distance car tourism makes pigeons leave their usual habitats. Suburban forests, visited by mushroom pickers almost all summer (from early spring to late autumn), have almost ceased to be habitual habitats for wild pigeons.
The number of vyhirey began to decline since the late forties of the last century, the reason was the huge use of pesticides in agriculture.
At present, gambling shooting by hunters of wild birds affects the restriction of increase in livestock. Dove pigeon easily flies away even after falling into it, the hunter can not always find the dead bird, which causes him to hunt further, killing more and more.
Natural adverse factors
The natural enemies of the wild pigeon are birds of prey - peregrine falcon and hawk. They hunt both adults and babies.
Smaller birds - magpies, jays, gray crows - ruin the nests of pigeons during laying and hatching. Proteins are harvested in the same way. According to the calculations of ornithologists in this way, up to forty percent of eggs laid down can be destroyed.
The number of annual clutches is affected by adverse temperature and humidity conditions: the late cold spring forces the birds to transfer the beginning of the first clutch to May, which leaves no time for the next reproduction this year.
Description of the yoke
Pigeons are integral inhabitants of small, medium and large cities.. They evoke different emotions in people. Someone scolds them for natural “uncleanliness”, others forcefully feed them with buns and crumbs of bread in parks and squares. Today we will talk about their close relatives - wild forest pigeons, wood pigeons. Since recent times, mankind has learned about the woodbird bird. Before the advent of the Internet, he was known only to birdwatchers. But now, a rare hunter is not familiar with the taste of his meat. The bird vititi, despite his own vigilance and fearfulness, often becomes prey of a person.
It is interesting! You can sneak up on him closer just by hiding under a camouflage cover near the wild pigeon’s natural habitat. At the same time, it is important to cover the face, otherwise a wary bird will notice the ill-wisher and immediately fly away.
In appearance and body shape, the wild pigeon is almost the same as an ordinary urban pigeon. Issue forest dweller unless impressive dimensions. The length of the body of the bird reaches 45 centimeters with a weight of 700-900 grams. Cases are noted when the live weight of the wood pigeon reached one and a half kilograms. About 70 centimeters is only one wingspan, the power of which allows the bird to overcome distances up to a thousand kilometers during the period of seasonal migration. It is especially interesting that the male looks an order of magnitude larger than the female, but their body weight is often the same.
Appearance
Wood Pigeon - a seemingly large dove. He has a characteristic feather color for these birds. The main part of the pen is painted in gray, that is, a blueish. This color allows you to successfully hide from detractors. The wings are decorated with wide whitish chevrons, they can be seen especially well in flight. The dark top of the tail is complemented by a white edging. The only thing that distinguishes this bird from its urban counterparts is the absence of dark transverse stripes on the wing. The chest of the wood pigeon is painted in a delicate wine-pink shade with a green sheen that looks especially attractive in the sun.
The head of an ashy color wood pigeon. The sides of the neck are decorated with whitish or in some cases beige spots. White has a yellow curved beak and red-pink paws. The eyes are round, black with a yellowish rim around the iris. The male wood pigeon looks massive. Females are more graceful. The color of their plumage is somewhat paler, the distinctive spots are smaller, but in flight the ladies look more graceful and more miniature.
Character and way of life
These birds are considered the largest wild forest relatives of our common urban pigeons. Their natural habitat is dense forests, places of agricultural crops, where they are looking for food in the fields.
However, you can meet the twigs in the suburbs and even within the city. At such a neighborhood of birds can push the lack of food in the main habitat.
Forest pigeons lead mostly sedentary. They like the outskirts of deciduous forests near the fields for feeding. Bypassing only the marshlands, settling on their outskirts is extremely rare. On the Orkney Islands of Scotland, which are famous for the lack of trees, these birds live right on the ground. Do not shun pigeon in such meager living conditions and cleft between the rocks.
It is interesting! Vityutni extremely cautious birds. This is due to their natural defenselessness against large predators. Therefore, try not to catch their eye - their main weapon of self-defense. Also wood pigeons fly fast. During the approach of the hunter or predator, the wild pigeon freezes and only in extreme cases sharply flies up into the sky, making a loud whistling sound with its wings.
They feel better away from the human eye, where they successfully exist and raise offspring. Vyahi gather in small flocks of several dozen birds, within the team they behave energetically and very sociable.
Habitat
Common Wood Pigeon, mainly a bird, living in Europe. However, you can meet her in a wider area. They are attracted by coniferous forests of Ukraine, Russia, Scandinavia and the Baltic States. In the summer months, the population of the Crimean creepers increases, as in the summer they are especially attracted by the southern countries. You can meet with the forest pigeon in the north-west of Africa.
Diet
The basis of sustenance of the Viola is vegetable food.. These are acorns, cereals. The menu also includes fruits, cones, nuts, berries, other plants and their seeds. Wild pigeons have one peculiarity.
In order to get hard-to-reach berries or nuts from a branch, they cling claws to a branch, hanging from it upside down. In the face of food shortages, these birds eat earthworms, slugs and caterpillars. Vityutni living near the human home, often fed by the remnants of bakery products. Flocks of woodpeckers like to go down to feed on mustard or clover fields. The southern regions attract birds with wild figs.
Wild Wood Pigeons differ from other birds in a different form of drinking. At a watering place, they are easily distinguished from all the others; they simply lower the beak into the water and draw it in through special holes. Before swallowing a dove, she briefly lifts her head.
Reproduction and offspring
For a year, a pair of wood pigeons can reproduce and grow up to three offspring. However, this should contribute to weather conditions. Mostly broods 2, less often 1 or 3. The breeding season begins in April, after returning from the winter hut, and lasts until September. At the age of 10-11 months, with the onset of puberty, the males, to attract the attention of the opposite sex, fly up to the tops of the trees and begin to coo. Most often they do it in the morning. As soon as the female pays attention to the gentleman, he immediately goes down to her, continuing to coo, avoiding her in a circle. The result of courtship is laying a pair of eggs.
It is interesting! After mating pair is taken for the construction of the nest. As the build material used small twigs. Before approving each twig, it is carefully groped with a beak to test for strength.
Once the materials are selected. After 2-3 days a nest is being built. The basis of the nest is a frame of solid large rods, the space between which is filled with smaller and flexible twigs. The result is a kind of bowl with a flat bottom and loose sides. The rods are loose, in which the gap may fall egg from the laying. Layout pigeons have a dwelling not higher than 2 meters from the ground. Especially lazy and can take someone else's abandoned.
The female lays a pair of white eggs, hatching which takes about 2.5 weeks. The female is engaged in incubation, the male replaces her sometimes for feeding. Both parents are engaged in feeding the born offspring. For about a month, the practically naked, blind chicks feed on “bird's milk”, a curd mass from ground into a gruel of cereals. After 5 weeks, the chicks are ready for independent living.
Natural enemies
Such predatory birds as the peregrine falcon and hawk represent the greatest natural danger for the population of the wood pigeons. They hunt both young birds and adults. Do not lag behind in the extermination of wild pigeons and squirrels, magpies, jays and gray crows, who are actively ruining nests with their eggs and eggs. There are statistics on which the annual number of pimples is reduced by 40% due to the intervention of these animals.
Natural climatic factors also interfere. For example, premature cooling, high humidity and other cataclysms reduce the duration of sexual activity of vyhirey, which makes it impossible to grow 2 or more broods per year. Например, поздняя весна заставляет переносить откладывание первых яиц на май месяц, что не дает времени для того, чтобы сформировать вторую кладку.
Также вносит свою лепту и человек. Витютень – птица, обладающая вкуснейшим, мягким мясом. Из-за этого эти птицы часто становятся жертвами охотников. At the same time, if you hit a cradle, he even after a bullet from his last strength flies away, which causes him to die in the more often forests, and the hunter to look for a new target.
Ruin these birds and civilization. It would seem that reducing rural settlements should provide an opportunity to increase the population, but this is not the case. Wood Pigeon is the bird most in love with silence. And the development of automobile tourism, the regular presence of a person (mushroom pickers, hunters, tourists, vacationers), even in the most secluded corners of the forest, makes the birds leave their homes. Also, the number of representatives of the type of distribution of the use of pesticides in the fields was "crippled".
Population and species status
Wild pigeons living in the Azores, are listed in the Red Book. The Vyahi islands of Madeira were exterminated at the beginning of the last century. Although the number of other subspecies of wild wiper pigeons and is reduced due to excessive deforestation, destruction of natural habitats and uncontrolled shooting, this species is not recognized as endangered.
Who is the pigeon and where it can be seen
Wild pigeons come in many forms. One of them is a wood pigeon. He is also called vitite or forest pigeon. He is the largest of his family, and therefore so attractive to hunters. Adults can reach up to 2 kg, their body is fleshy, and the wingspan is more than half a meter. The pigeon has an unusual coloring:
- legs and pointed beak - red,
- belly reddish blue,
- breast can be either red or burgundy,
- the back is gray-blue,
- tail dark gray with dark edging.
There are two distinctive features on the neck - white spots, which only adult pigeons have, and they do not have them. Very noteworthy singing of the pigeon. It is difficult to notice a pigeon in the forest, but it is always betrayed by gentle cooing: “Kru-kuu-ku-kuk, kru-kuu-ku-kuk”, which is distributed from tree branches.
Vyakhira habitats can be plains, mountains covered with deciduous or coniferous forests. They live there in large flocks, but it is often possible to meet these pigeons in the countryside. Their favorite places to sleep on the borders of fields, in dense bushes, young overgrown trees. Farmers dislike squirrel for the fact that they feed on seeds from their crops. And in urban gardens, people are happy to see unusual pigeons.
What does the wood pigeon feed on?
Wild pigeons are eaten predominantly by plant food, avoiding caterpillars or all sorts of larvae. Sometimes they don’t mind eating crops, flocking to the fields of mustard, legumes, clover or grains. Those pigeons that live near European cities are not afraid of people and never refuse bread and other products. However, the rest of the birds are rather shy and cautious, but so energetic that when taking off, they make a loud whistling sound. Hunting them is not so easy, although there are a lot of lovers of this occupation. That even led to a decrease in the population of pigeons, and in some countries to the complete extinction.
Council If a forest pigeon's nest has appeared near your dacha, support the bird population - feed them with cornmeal or sunflower seeds, they will be very grateful to you.
Where is the dove and how to distinguish it
Another typical member of the pigeon family is the forest dove. In size, it ranks third after the cradle and clintuha. Outwardly, it is very similar to an ordinary urban pigeon, but it has several differences from them:
- They have a brownish, mottled coloration and reddish breast.
- On the neck all the same white spots, but a little more elongated, like chevrons.
Pigeons of this species inhabit almost the entire territory of Europe, with the exception of the most northern regions. But the southern areas are more preferable to them, because of the places with long cold periods they have to fly for the winter. In order to avoid tedious flights, pigeons are increasingly settling near human settlements, in search of warmth and bread.
On the life and diet of the forest pigeon
The feed of these birds for the most part consists of plants and grains of agricultural crops, so they can often be found in villages near domestic chickens and ordinary pigeons. In the cities, they are found much less frequently, so even the remains of bread and other delicacies do not make their attitude towards the person more tolerant.
Predators often annoy pigeons, ruining nests and hunting for adults. In order to avoid their attacks, birds lodge on high coniferous trees. There they carefully build their nests, in which, as a rule, 1-2 white eggs lie. It takes only 17 days for a female to sit on the offspring of wild pigeons, so two generations have time to grow in a year.
Pigeons are famous for their singing and cooing, these pleasant sounds prompted a person to tame the bird. Until now, these feathered pets welcome. There is even a separate type of domesticated turtle dove — a wild laughing turtle dove. True, the singing of these pigeons is very different from the ordinary - it resembles laughter, hence the name. But this bird is suitable for keeping in cage conditions.
Wild pigeons are very interesting and noble birds that attract with their appearance and cooing. They more than deserve respect for themselves. Do not pass by these pigeons, admire, feed, observe. Love nature, and she will answer in the same way.
WHAT EATS
Wood Pigeons feed almost exclusively on plant food. The menu of these birds consists of seeds, leaves, grains, grass, acorns and fruits. Less often, the withers eat caterpillars, slugs and earthworms. Birds living alongside human dwellings also feed on leftover baked goods.
In some areas, in certain periods, pigeons of the Wood Pigeon feed on crops. In the autumn, the diet of these pigeons is supplemented with clover, and in spring, flocks of vyhirey go down to the fields where mustard grows. In the summer they can lead to significant losses in the grain fields. Birds living in southern countries also feed on wild figs.
Those who had the opportunity to watch the wood pigeons at a watering place, noticed that they did not drink like other birds. These pigeons immerse the beak in water and suck it through special holes. Before swallowing the water, pigeons briefly raise their heads.
LIFESTYLE
Common wood pigeon lives in both flat and mountainous terrain. Most of all birds like deciduous and mixed forests, but often they settle in coniferous forests. The voice of the pigeon is a special cooing, which is conveyed by the sounds of “kuu-yu, kuu-ruu” or “gurr-game-gurr”. When the nesting period ends, wild forest pigeons of the wood pigeon are kept in large flocks, which in the evening gather in common overnight places. The males of vyhirey spend nights there even when the females hatch the eggs. In rural areas, the desired place to sleep on these pigeons are the boundaries between the fields, covered with shrubs and trees. Farmers do not like the wind for the fact that they often feed in the fields. In urban gardens and parks, on the contrary, people are happy with their presence and often feed birds.
Reproduction
With the onset of the nesting period, the male, wanting to attract the attention of the female, loudly coo and show his flying abilities. The female, which adopted the courtship of the male, together with the chosen one, performs another ritual. During it, wood wood trunks touch each other with their beaks and clean their feathers. The most convenient place for the nest is the very dense crowns of the trees. The nest of these birds is twisted from thin branches. Very often, wood pigeons use old nests of forty, crows and squirrel hollows. The female lays 2 white eggs that parents incubate together.
After 15-17 days chicks hatch from eggs. Parents feed them with a special substance - "pigeon's milk", which is formed in the craw of adult birds. Pigeon chicks "drink milk" deeply plunging the beak into the goiter of one of the parents. After a few days, they begin to get used to normal food. The chicks fly in 7 weeks.
ENEMIES VYAKHRYA
The main enemies of the wild pigeon woodbird are large birds of prey. In recent years, due to human fault, the number of birds of prey has significantly decreased, which has led to an increase in the population of wild pigeons with the witch. Occasionally, witchutas become prey to the forest marten, which deftly climbs trees. On the ground, they are hunted by foxes and badgers, since pigeons are quite large and cannot immediately take to the air. In some countries, pigeons of the wood pigeon are so numerous that they are considered pests and destroy. Every year in these regions a very large number of vykhrey are shot.
OBSERVATIONS FOR VYAHREM
At a certain time of the year, when the grains ripen, you can meet with the wood craig in the field - the bird collects seeds there. In Western Europe, layouts are quite numerous in the cities. They live in parks or gardens. Wood Pigeon makes its presence a typical cry. The pigeon, which was frightened, flies from the top of the tree, loudly beating its wings. In many places, where these birds are accustomed to the presence of people, they let a person to him and willingly take food from his hands - bread crumbs.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Vihir - very careful birds, so the hunt for them is not such a simple task. Now the number of wild forest wood pigeons has decreased significantly.
Common wood pigeon is the largest of the pigeons in the forests of Eurasia. Body length - up to 44 cm, weight - 620 grams. It nests in trees, where it lays 2 eggs. This large wild forest pigeon successfully drives away even ravens from the nest. At first, the chicks are fed with “pigeon milk”, which stands out from the goiter of the parents, then with seeds and grain. His favorite foods are acorns and beech nuts, which he swallows whole. In the winter the birds fly south. They fly in large flocks of 300-500 individuals.
INTERESTING FACTS, INFORMATION.
- Wood Pigeon carefully selects building material for the nest. He examines each twig and stem in detail with his beak before deciding whether to use them or throw them away.
- Despite its large size and massive body, pigeon can perform breathtaking acrobatic numbers in the air. A bird may hang on a branch upside down to reach for fruits or nuts.
- During the year, the twigs have 2-3 offspring.
- In the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland, where there are no trees, the twigs nest on the ground or, more often, in rocky crevices.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF WHEATING
Adult bird: birds of both sexes are painted the same. Their head, neck and tail are light gray. The belly and chest are purple. On the sides of the neck there are green and white spots. The back and wings are gray.
Flight: in flight, white spots are clearly visible on the wings of pigeons.
Nest: woven from twigs, thin roots, hard grass stems or shoots. Whipworm chicks remain in the nest for 28-29 days.
Eggs: most often 2 white eggs.
- Where the wild wood pigeon is living in wood pigeon
Where it lives
Common wood pigeon lives almost throughout Europe and in the East to Northern India. In addition, it inhabits mountain forests in North Africa.
PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION
Common wood pigeon is widely distributed throughout Europe, its number is inferior only to the number of feral domestic pigeons and urban descendants of gray-gray pigeons. And although in many places it is being hunted, the disappearance of this species is not threatened.
Wood pigeon feeds the chick. Video (00:00:29)
Common wood pigeon (bird from the genus pigeons) feeds the chick. This bird is secretive, so not so often you can see it. But we were lucky. A pair of pigeons made a nest directly opposite the cabinet window, literally in a meter and a half. So we have the opportunity to observe their own lives, and to show others a little.
A few days ago, a bird was born at the vyhirey, and today it turned out to be filmed
Scarecrow Pigeon SPORT PLAST. Video (00:00:16)
Effigy of a pigeon from the Italian company SPORT PLAST. Due to its realism and practicality, these stuffed animals occupy the first place among world manufacturers. Due to the special color stuffed animals do not glare in the sun. These stuffed animals can be mounted on a sunflower hat with the help of a plastic rod-peg, which comes in a set to the stuffed animal. Also included are removable legs, with which you can put a scarecrow on a field or other flat surface.
Forest Dove: its appearance, photo
Residents of cities are accustomed to one type of pigeons - a gray dove. About many pigeons that are in the wild, people have never heard.
Wood Pigeon or Vitjen is a forest bird, belongs to the pigeon family. The population of these birds is small. Vitutyen is very cautious and fearful, so rarely can anyone see her.
Common Pigeon Bird is the largest of its wild relatives. An adult reaches the following sizes:
- male's length reaches 450 mm, females - from 422 to 436 mm,
- male's weight is from 530 to 625 g, females weigh from 450 to 500 g,
- male wing length - from 237 to 262 mm, and for females - from 225 to 257 mm.
The main color of the pigeon body is gray, with which the gray and smoky tones interweave with brown impregnations. On the sides of the neck, the main feature of the pigeon is visible - white spots. There are also white spots on the wings. They become clearly visible in the flight of a pigeon. Paws and claws of crimson color.
The craw of a bird is of a rich red-lilac color; shades on the chest are mixed from pink to red. The neck of the wood worm is beautifully cast with a greenish-red metallic luster. The beak is slightly curved, two-colored: the base is red, and the top is yellow. The head is small in size, the eyes are round with a yellow rim.
The female and male do not differ from each other in color. They differ only in size - the dove is slightly smaller than the dove. The young birds are also similar to the old individuals, however, they do not have white spots on the neck. The photo will give a more complete picture of the handsome forest.
Territory and habitat
Wood pigeon is found in many parts of the world. It lives in Western and Eastern Europe, Iran, Iraq, the Himalayas, North-West Africa, in Asia Minor and Northern Asia.
On the territory of the former USSR, the forest pigeon is widely distributed. It can be found in such regions:
- Volyn.
- Skirts.
- Novgorod region.
- St. Petersburg region.
- Western Siberia.
- Azov.
- Caucasus.
- Crimea.
Wood Pigeon is a migratory bird. Winters usually in the Crimea and the Caucasus. The forest dweller departs for the winter, not earlier than September, and the first arrivals are noted already at the beginning of March.
Dove orbit can settle in various forests. In the north, he likes to nest in coniferous forests and spruce. Moving to the south, the forests become mixed, and the birds feel well in them. If conifers are found, they settle in them. Do not refuse a pigeon and oak groves. Find their refuge in the steppe zone, where the forest is not so much. Loves beech and birch forests.
Population and reproduction
The number of individuals of wild pigeons is rapidly decreasing every year. This is due to intensive deforestation, the development of new territories by man. Shooting hunters affect the reduction of the population as much as the destruction of forests.
Pigeons gather in flocks. The number of birds in them can reach several dozen. During the flight to warm countries, the largest ones are formed. The most numerous packs of vyhyri form during wintering at a certain place. Creating huge concentrations of birds causes damage to crops. In such areas allowed the shooting of pigeons of this species.
Dove and dove are found in pairs only during nesting. Mating in pigeons begins in early spring: the beginning of March, sometimes in April. Males attract the attention of females cooing, the most active - in the morning. The mating dance is accompanied by several movements around the chosen one:
- pigeon straightens tail,
- bulging chest and goiter,
- circling near the dove,
- takes off and plummets.
If the female shows favor, a pair is formed. Pigeons are very jealous of their darlings. They carefully guard their family from other birds, sometimes there are even fights. After a pair is formed, the pigeons start building a nest.
Nest birds build over several days. It turns out fragile, thin and translucent. The tray is flat. The material for the nest are thin branches with a number of trees growing. Their dwellings can be positioned at the very height or closer to the trunk of the tree. The nest is of such sizes:
- outer diameter - from 30 to 40 centimeters,
- internal diameter - from 11 to 14 centimeters,
- depth - from 3 to 5 centimeters,
- height - from 7 to 14 centimeters.
The dove pigeon, which lives in the northern regions, lays eggs once. Southern residents can incubate chicks and twice. The laying usually consists of two eggs. And the second egg is laid a few days later than the first. The dove of the woods begins to hatch the clutch from the first egg, so the chicks are of different ages. Both pigeons are involved in incubation for 17 to 18 days. The female spends most of the time in the nest, the male only occasionally substitutes it. It monitors the safety of the nest.
Food for newborns are the discharge from the goiter of parents, curd consistency. Then the chicks are transferred gradually to regular food, but previously softened in the beak. Chicks do not leave the nest before 40 days. They make their first flights with their parents, who support them for some time. Then the young stock forms new flocks.
The dove of the road goes through a full cycle of molting once a year. This is a long process. As a rule, the plumage begins to change in May, and ends in November. Смена пера начинается с маховых перьев, постепенно переходя к переднему краю крыла. Заканчивается линька заменой рулевых перьев.
Молодняк линяет в разное время. Это связано с разным временем их появления на свет. Птенцы могут не успеть закончить линьку в зимний период, поэтому продолжают ее весной. In adults, this process occurs in due time.
Pigeon habits
Vitutyen flies quickly, making loud sounds. They emanate from their large wings. On the ground, pigeons walk in small, unhurried steps, shaking their heads forward and back. The bird can not soar quickly, so it becomes easy prey for predatory animals.
Wood Pigeon is a shy bird, so it tries not to show up. For nesting preference is given to forests with dense foliage, where you can hide.
From the settlements, the litter has a nest farther than two kilometers. Feed takes off early in the morning.
The sounds that the wood pigeon makes are very similar to the voices of other relatives. Like other pigeons - it reminds cooing. They can be heard only during the mating period.
What eats?
The basis of the diet of the Viola is vegetable food. Only in very rare cases can they eat food of animal origin. It can be caterpillars or earthworms. Preference is given to ordinary cereals, legumes, wild cereals. However, it can eat all the grains that it finds on the ground. Bird food preferences will depend on the habitat where it lives.
In coniferous forests, a wild pigeon gladly eats seeds of coniferous trees. With the change of vegetation, the food preferences of the forest dweller change. Wood pigeon uses oak acorns, beech fruits. He does not refuse from viburnum, wild strawberry, lingonberry, blueberry. Vituty can do food supplies. He lays them in a fairly roomy goiter, where about 8 acorns can fit.
Its food forest pigeon collects on the ground, loves pluck low plants. But if his habitat is dense forests, he tears the fruits from the trees in flight. Even young buds can peck. During the period of long wintering does not disdain cabbage leaves and clovers. A varied diet allows the dove to take root in virtually any locality.
Species of wild pigeons
The order of pigeon-shaped has more than 290 wild and domesticated species. In nature, there are several varieties of wild pigeons, except for the wood pellets. Many wild pigeons have already become extinct and a few of their main species are left.
- Dove gray. A photo. It got its name for the coloring of the plumage. This type of pigeons is the most famous, because they are residents of cities. In the wild, birds settle in rocky terrain. In the city nest in the attics of houses. Their sizes do not exceed 220 mm. They are very fond of wheat, however, they are illegible in food. They begin to mate from spring and continue until autumn, setting aside up to 5 clutches per year.
- Gorlitse. A photo. Inhabits the forest-steppe belt of Europe, Moldova, Ukraine, there are about 18 species. Bird of small size: length - up to 270 mm, weight - not more than 160 grams. The plumage color is milky brown with a grayish tint. The hallmark is a clear black line on the back of the neck. Nesting begins when the trees are covered with leaves. Masonry consists of two eggs. It feeds on plant foods. He likes to drink water. After the morning meal, be sure to fly to the pond for a watering place. Since the XVI century, people practice the breeding of turtle doves in captivity.
- Klintuh. A photo. The bird is widespread in Siberia, China, Turkey, Kazakhstan. Prefers to settle in the forests. Clintukha has a very beautiful color. The head of a bird of blue color, which gradually turns into malachite on the neck. The wings are dull gray, the tail is darker with black stripes. Nest in trees where there is a hollow. There from thin twigs, build their nests. Secretive birds. During breeding, the male hides in the treetops and protects his home.
A photo gallery of birds will show all the beauty and singularity of wild forest dwellers.
