Species: Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
Family: Pigeons and Doves (COLUMBIDAE)
Category: Birds
Location: NW
A. Birds
More extensive information on birds can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Pigeons and Doves (COLUMBIDAE)
This is a large family that feeds primarily on seeds, fruits, and plants. They are strong flyers, famed for their homing ability, using the sun as a compass and landmarks to navigate.
C. Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
It is a ubiquitous, resident breeder, and also a Winter visitor to town and woodland. With an estimated 5.2 million pairs its conservation status is GREEN.
Some pigeon folklore is bizarre. How it could be imagined that a patient with a fever could be cured by strapping a dissected pigeon to the feet is beyond comprehension. People approaching death were said to have a yearning to eat pigeon pie. A pigeon settling on or inside a house is a death omen. It was said that if a dying person was given a pillow stuffed with pigeon feathers their death would be delayed, or even postponed. The same cannot of course be said for the pigeon that supplied the feathers.
Images
Woodpigeon
The Woodpigeon is a ubiquitous, resident breeder, and also a Winter visitor to town and woodland.
Woodpigeon
It is rare not to be in the Cemetery and hear the wing-flap of a Woodpigeon and then see one gliding from tree to tree.
