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Pigeon pigeon leads a hidden life in the forests of temperate latitudes of Russia. A small bird is listed in the Red Book and is protected by the law of some states.
Vyakhir is a forest pigeon, which is rarely seen in nature, due to the lifestyle that takes place in the crowns of trees. They differ in size and color from the urban ones, which are known to everyone. Vyakhir makes itself felt, occasionally emerging from dense branches, emitting characteristic sounds from the thicket of trees.
Pigeon pigeon description
The wild pigeon pigeon (pictured) or forest pigeon has the Latin name Columba palumbus. People take him for an ordinary pigeon from the urban environment, but the wood pigeon is distinguished by large physical data, color, and living in isolated areas. The pigeon lives in uncrowded places, hiding in the foliage of trees, guarding its "hermitage". Hunters, wild animals (foxes, ferrets, martens, badgers) and birds of prey (peregrine falcon, hawk, golden eagle) are the main enemies.
The wood pigeon is larger and more powerful than ordinary pigeons. The length is more than 40 cm, the weight varies from 500 g to 930 g. The color of the feathers is gray, with a shade of blue. The breast is gray-reddish. The goiter is colored turquoise or lilac. On the neck, it is greenish with a shimmer and has 2 white spots. When flying on the wings, white stripes are clearly visible - chevrons.
By old age, white spots on the neck become brighter, the beak turns yellow intensely. The color of the breast becomes more pink, the white stripes on the tail stand out noticeably. The beak is yellow or pinkish, the eyes are yellow, the legs are red.
Wings with a span of 75 cm. During takeoff, they emit a characteristic flapping sound.
Distinctive gurgling calls can be heard in the early morning, while near the forest: "koo-kuuu-ku-kuku, kru-kuuu-ku-kuku". These strong sounds are made by wood pigs. During breeding, the pigeon hides in the crowns of trees, does not betray its presence with sounds and whistling. Vyakhir instantly falls silent when he notices the approach or presence of people and animals. Feeding takes place nearby, as the pigeon is afraid to leave the nest for a long time, leaving the clutch or chicks. A cautious pigeon chooses short distances, flying from tree to tree, flying around the landing site from afar. The hard-to-reach, remote corners of the forest are ideal hiding places for the secretive wood pigeon.
Habitat and distribution
The wood pigeon pigeon in the photo is found in the temperate latitudes north of the equator:
- Northwest Africa;
- Europe;
- Western Siberia;
- Iran, Iraq, Turkey;
- Himalayas.
Seasonal migrations of birds are partially influenced by their habitat. The pigeon pigeon from Africa does not fly anywhere, settling in one place. Northern wood pigeon migrates to the southern regions. Forests of the Scandinavian Peninsula, mixed forests of the Baltic States, Ukraine are the favorite breeding and habitation areas of wood pigeons. The pigeon chose the northwestern part of Russia as its habitat, flying for the winter to the southern edges of the Caucasus, Kuban, and Crimea.
The northern pigeon settles in coniferous forests. Closer to the south, it settles in mixed forests. Loves oak groves, with enough food. The pigeon can live in forest-steppe zones.
The area of distribution of the migratory bird is from western Europe to the border with Asia, the coastal zones of the Atlantic coast of Africa from the north-western side.
The pigeon pigeon finds food in the fields, feeding on seeds, occasionally choosing worms and insects.Pigeon is specially hunted by amateurs of sports shooting, training the speed of reaction. The decline in the population of wood pigs is due to deforestation and hunting.
Varieties
The forest pigeon is divided into several varieties in different climatic and geographical zones of the earth:
Pigeons | Short description |
Dove
| The color of the plumage is gray, the tail is dark. It settles in mountainous areas, forests, in urban areas. It is rarely removed from its place of residence, it can migrate. A small bird with a wingspan of no more than 22 cm. It feeds on grains, food, which is located near the nesting site. |
Gray dove
| The first description was made in Indonesia, where the pigeon chose to live in thickets of mangroves and ordinary forests. The feather on the body is silvery gray. The wing is decorated with a black edging. The back of the neck glows green, the eyes are red, and there are also purple. |
Rock dove
| Looks like a cisar. But the light tail and black beak are distinguished from the cisar. Inhabits the mountainous regions of Tibet, Korea, Altai. Breeds on rocks, high places. |
Turtledove
| Migratory pigeon. I took a fancy to the forest-steppes of Ukraine, Moldova, southern European regions, Asian countries, Africa and Australia. It has many subspecies. Small parameters - 27 cm. The feather is gray, with a brownish tint. The neck is decorated with a black stripe. Pointed wings with white stripes. Tail with a wedge. The paws are red. |
Klintukh
| The pigeon lives in the regions of Siberia, China, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Nests in trees, picking hollows. The plumage casts a bluish tinge. Neck, breast are green, wings with a grayish-blue tint, matte, with a black stripe across. The tail section is highlighted with black stripes. |
According to the habitat of wood pigs, several types are distinguished:
- Asian pigeon;
- North African pigeon;
- Iranian wood pigeon;
- Azores.
Dove in the Azores of Portugal, protected by the Red Book. The Vyakhir, who inhabited the islands of the Azores archipelago, has survived and now lives on the islands of São Miguel and Pico. Here the pigeon is also hunted, since the number of birds still allows shooting. Other habitats of this subspecies of wood pigeon are under state protection and protection. Vyakhir, from the island of Madeira, was exterminated at the beginning of the last century.
Forest pigeon behavior and lifestyle
Pigeons live in flocks of several dozen birds. When migrating, flocks of hundreds of heads flock.
They spend almost all their time in the fields for food: grains of cereals, legumes and various grain plants. A mobile, nimble large wood pigeon, the wood pigeon, shows extreme caution during nesting and flights, and chooses distant, calm and quiet places. The wood pigeon communicates with other relatives using sounds called cooing, like all pigeons. When taking off, it emits a loud sound with its wings, the flight is energetic, noisy.
Since it picks up food from the ground, you have to walk - it moves in small steps, nodding its head, which helps to focus the gaze on the stern. Due to its large size, it takes off slowly and hard. It can become prey for medium-sized predators.
Pigeon feeding
Vyakhiri feed on what is near the nest. If it is a pine forest or an oak grove, then the food will mainly consist of cones, acorns and seeds of other plants. Collect food from branches or from the ground.
Places with rich food, fields with cereals, become a favorite feeding place, where flocks flock from all over the area. The pigeon uses legumes, fruits, nuts, herbs, wild and cultivated grains for food. Berries also serve as food: lingonberry, blueberry, blueberry.
Pigeon goiter holds a lot of food: up to 7 acorns or a handful of grain. Small bushes with berries, nuts, the pigeon can pluck clean. Wheat is a favorite treat for wood pigeons. They arrange raids on the fields during the harvest, picking up fallen spikelets or swooping down on the heaps of grain.And after the harvest, the pigeon pigeon chooses wheat fields to collect many birds.
Reproduction and nesting method
During the period of incubation of clutch and nursing of chicks, the school pigeon of wood pigeon retires with the dove in a nest made of thin twigs. At the same time, food is obtained nearby. The male pigeon brings food by caring for the pigeon. The female incubates eggs.
The breeding season lasts from April to September. A flock of pigeons, consisting of married couples and young individuals, which have reached maturity during the winter to search for a pair, arrive at the summer venue. In the morning hours, a pigeon of a pigeon with a characteristic cooing begins to lure the female, from the tops of the trees, this can be seen and heard in the video:
By the end of April, or at the beginning of May, the young choose a pair and begin to build a nest by twisting twigs. At the same time, the African sedentary pigeon wood pigeon also begins to build nests, having decided on the pairs.
The nests of wood pigs are lined with openwork, visible between the twigs from all sides, with a flat bottom. The pigeon twists thicker branches into small flexible branches. The bird house is attached between the branches at a low height, no more than 2 m. Sometimes young couples use old nests of other birds, reinforcing it with twigs and twigs. The rapid completion of the construction of the "house" is marked by the beginning of the mating games.
During mating games, the male pigeon flies in circles, cooes with the female, performing ritual games and flights. After the games, the female lays eggs. It takes 15-18 days to hatch. At this time, the wood pigeon does not fly far away. A young pigeon helps the dove in everything, being all the time nearby, in the foliage. The couple behaves very carefully so as not to betray their presence to predators - small animals and birds.
After the chicks of the pigeon pigeon hatched, within 1 month the parents feed them, taking turns carrying food. Curd discharge from the goiter of wood pigs goes to feed the chicks at first. Then the moment comes when the chicks switch to other food. Usually, the chicks have 1-2 chicks, which after 40 days learn to fly next to their parents. After mastering the skill, the chicks fly away from their native nest, starting an independent life in a flock.
Life expectancy and numbers
The pigeon leads a secretive lifestyle, carefully guards its space when breeding offspring away from people and noisy cities.
Since the beginning of the use of fertilizers and chemicals in the fields with cereals and other crops, since the 50s of the last century, the number of pigeons has dropped several times. A pigeon that feeds on grain, cereals and legumes is poisoned with fertilizers. Having chosen a rich place for feeding, the pigeons flock there in flocks and return again and again, receiving lethal doses of poisons.
The lifespan of a wood pigeon is approximately 16 years. The number of birds decreases every year. In Russia, the pigeon pigeon is hunted for recreational purposes - training in hunting skill. Meat is used for cooking. The pigeon from the persecution of a person changes its habitat, leaving for the remote corners of the forests. In European countries, the wood pigeon wood pigeon can easily settle even in cities, arranging nests in noisy places, near roads, on the roofs of multi-storey buildings. Hunting, although permitted, is not very popular. Pigeon more often comes under fire in the field where it feeds. Getting prey from someone else's site is a big problem. Without the knowledge of the owner, you cannot walk on the field, this is prohibited by law. Pigeon's habitat is decreasing - forests favored by birds are being cut down, roads are being built. Noise, risk and anxiety drive the vitute to other distant lands. Tourist wilderness areas have also gotten rid of the presence of pigeons. Despite the fact that nature lovers do not bother, do not shoot, and do not catch pigeons.
Natural factors in the decrease in the number of pigeons are weather conditions, climatic changes. Late spring, rainy summers play a role in reducing the number of clutches that a pigeon will have time to make during the summer months. Such natural conditions are not uncommon in the northern, northwestern habitats on the Eurasian continent.
The second factor is natural enemies in nature, hunting for whites, for offspring. Peregrine falcon, goshawk attack young animals. Small birds, crows, jays and magpies destroy nests, hunting for clutches of whitut. Scientists ornithologists suggest that 40% of pigeon eggs are lost precisely because of birds. Squirrels, martens also love to feast on pigeon eggs.
Conclusion
Pigeon pigeon, forest handsome man chooses his mate for life. Their cooing in the morning and the flutter of their wings pleases with the imminent onset of warm spring days. If they settled next to people, then there is a hope that the birds will not disappear forever.
