BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Woodpigeon

WOODPIGEON
Columba palumbus

Conservation Listings

Unlisted/Green
Biodiversity Steering Group: Unlisted

Long term trend

UK: Moderate increase

Status Summary

Woodpigeons are difficult to survey accurately, but the CBC nevertheless shows a significant increase in abundance since the mid-1970s. This increase is apparent in both farmland and woodland habitats. The species is a pest on arable crops and the spread of intensive arable cultivation, especially of oilseed rape, may explain the rise in numbers (Gibbons et al. 1993).

Table of population changes for Woodpigeon

Source Period
(yrs) Years Plots
(n) Change
(%) Lower
limit Upper
limit Alert Comment

CBC all habitats 31 1968-1999 98 90 14 218

25 1974-1999 118 104 53 170

10 1989-1999 152 21 10 31

5 1994-1999 162 15 9 20

CBC farmland 31 1968-1999 40 66 9 159

25 1974-1999 48 48 12 124

10 1989-1999 70 15 3 29

5 1994-1999 74 9 0 18

CBC woodland 31 1968-1999 42 228 117 385

25 1974-1999 50 153 70 257

10 1989-1999 67 25 3 50

5 1994-1999 74 19 10 29

BBS UK 6 1994-2000 1812 3 -1 7

BBS England 6 1994-2000 1456 5 1 10

BBS Scotland 6 1994-2000 158 -16 -27 -2

BBS Wales 6 1994-2000 138 10 -4 25

BBS N.Ireland 6 1994-2000 51 49 11 99

The Breeding Bird Survey is jointly funded by BTO, JNCC and RSPB

Productivity information is not currently available for this species

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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Crick, H.Q.P., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Leech, D.I., Marchant, J.H.,
Noble, D.G., Raven, M.J., Simpkin, A.P., Thewlis, R.M. and Wernham, C.V. (2002) Breeding Birds in the Wider
Countryside: their conservation status 2001. BTO Research Report No. 278. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

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