Common Wood Pigeon

How to recognise it

• Mostly grey plumage with a blue-green sheen on head and neck, pink breast
• White patches on the neck sides but no true ring, missing in young birds
• White bars across the upper wing show clearly in flight
• Sexes look alike, but females show less red on the breast and slightly smaller neck patches

Call and song

The song is a rather muffled five-syllable cooing, stressed on the first syllable. The phrase is repeated about three to five times without a pause and ends with a 'ko'. When it takes off, the wings make an intense clattering sound that serves as a warning.

Where and when

The Common Wood Pigeon is a partial migrant that breeds in Sweden. It is common in forest and farmland from Skåne to Norrbotten and southern Lapland, and is reported from all 21 counties. Autumn migration peaks in October, when large numbers leave Sweden via Falsterbo. It is reported most in March and April. It is not red-listed in the Swedish Red List 2025.

Food and behaviour

Food is almost all plant matter: grain, fruit, peas, seeds, berries, shoots and buds, with beechnuts and acorns popular in winter. It usually feeds in flocks on open fields and farmland, and in winter often visits bird tables. Outside the breeding season it is often seen in larger flocks. In display flight it climbs steeply with loud wing clapping, then glides on stiff wings with its tail spread.