Woodpigeon Columba palumbus

5.1.4 Woodpigeon Columba palumbus

The woodpigeon is a widespread and common or abundant species in agricultural and forested landscapes, and partly also in urban areas, throughout the Zone. It extended its range northward during the 20^th century and now also occurs commonly within the boreal zone. Populations are assumed to be stable or increasing throughout the Zone, except in Sweden where the species has apparently declined following an increase until 1970-80 (Snow & Perrins 1998, Table 5.).

Woodpigeons are migratory in northern and eastern Europe but are partly sedentary in Denmark and in southernmost Norway and Sweden. The northern and eastern boundaries of the normal winter distribution lie close to the 0 °C January isotherm (Snow & Perrins 1998). Northern and eastern populations leave the breeding areas from mid-September to early November, with huge numbers passing through South Sweden and Denmark, and along the eastern Baltic coastline, in October. Spring migration occurs mainly March-April (Cramp 1985).

Woodpigeons occur in most terrestrial habitats but seem to prefer a mosaic landscape with woods and agricultural land. In farmland, woodpigeons breed in hedgerows, coverts etc. but forages in open fields. Woodpigeons breeding in forest or urban areas also frequently fly to adjacent farmland to feed. Broad-leaved crops seem to be preferred feeding sites but crop preferences during summer are not strong (Petersen 1996b). Pigeons foraging in British farmland showed season-dependent preferences: cereal stubble in November - January, winter rape in January - February and pasture in February - May; in addition newly sown cereal and pea fields were exploited when available (October - November and March - May) (Inglis et al. 1990). Woodpigeons have also been recorded feeding in freshly drilled rape fields (Petersen 1996a). In a British study of birds feeding at bait stations with different seeds, pigeons seemed to prefer peas but also took rape and barley (Prosser 1999).

Body weight is rather variable: ♂ 325–614 g, ♀ 284–587 g (Snow & Perrins 1998); low values (< 350 g) are possibly from exhausted birds (Cramp 1985). Mean body weight of the smaller sex (♀: 435 g) may be used for risk assessment.

The daily energy expenditure can be calculated allometrically using the equation for non-passerine birds in accordance with the formula in Appendix G of the EFSA Guidance Document (EFSA 2009).

Woodpigeons feed on a wide range of plant material, with seeds or green leaves dominating, depending on season. Seeds from newly sown cereal, pea or rape fields and all types of grain from stubble fields are apparently preferred when available. In winter, green leaves of broad-leaved crops (oil-seed rape) and different weeds are important but beech mast, acorns etc. may also be significant during autumn and winter. The summer diet is highly variable and may include up to 5 % invertebrates (Christensen et al. 1996).

Schnock & Seutin (1973, cited in Cramp 1985) studied woodpigeon crop contents in Belgium (Table 5.). The results are presented as percentage of fresh weight.

The woodpigeon is relevant for the following crop scenarios:

• 
  winter cereals, freshly drilled
  
• 
  maize, freshly drilled
  
• 
  winter rape, BBCH 10-19
  
• 
  spring rape, BBCH 10-19
  
• 
  pulses (peas), BBCH 10-19
  
• 
  pulses (peas), BBCH 80-99
  

Woodpigeons are highly mobile and may cover large areas of land in their search for food (Prosser 2010). Therefore the available data on diet composition (Table 5., Table 5.) do not reflect foraging in any particular crop. To deal with this, the published diets were used as a starting point, whereupon the food items not available (or less available) in the crop in question were deleted (or their share was reduced) and the relative shares of the other components of diet were increased proportionally. In this process, the generic “pigeon” diets in EFSA 2009 were also taken into account.

In risk assessment for seed treatments the following values may be used (Table 5.).