Tag Archives: Columba palumbus

A big garden bird

Hringdúfa – Wood pigeon – Columba palumbus

A Wood Pigeon can now be added to the list of birds in our garden. For about 10 days this bird has taken a great liking to our garden, and sometimes we have seen two of them. These two seem to be males and are not at all fond of each other’s company.  Our Wood Pigeon is getting to like us more every day and becoming tamer and more relaxed.

The Wood Pigeon is a vagrant in Iceland but its numbers have been increasing in recent years. Confirmation of successful breeding has been recorded a few times.

In many countries the Wood Pigeon is not so well liked. In agriculture they can cause damage to crops and in some places it is legal to shoot them. Wood Pigeons are common in parks and gardens in Europe and western Asia and their numbers are growing in  cities.

Common Wood Pigeon

Hringdúfa – Common Wood Pigeon – Columba palumbus

The Common Wood Pigeon is a breeding bird in the forests of Europe and Asia. It has breed in Iceland several times and is most often seen here in the spring but also in the autumn.

This spring a considerable number of these pigeons has been spotted and in all likelihood some will breed somewhere in Iceland this summer.
The photos are taken in Southeast Iceland, in Kálfafellstaður in Suðursveit.