Autumn and winter diet of wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) in the Central Ciscaucasia

Abstract

The wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) is the largest pigeon in Russia: an adult bird weighs max. 620 g. Its population in Central Ciscaucasia is quite numerous, which makes it a popular object of sports hunting. However, very little is known about its diet and feeding habits. This article describes the seasonal features of C. palumbus diet during the hunting season in the Stavropol Region, Russia. The study relied on the analysis of foods extracted from 66 crops and stomachs of wood pigeons killed by hunters or hit by road vehicles in various biotopes in 25 districts of the Stavropol Region. In the steppe areas, wood pigeons usually inhabit summer gardens, orchards, vineyards, and green belts along fields, roads, and railways. Wood pigeons are phytophages, which means they feed on plants. Their autumn diet includes sunflower seeds (17.98% occurrence rate, 19.68% total diet), corn grains (15.11 and 9.56%, respectively), wheat (14.39 and 9.98%), flax (6.47 and 10.4%), and millet (2.88 and 4.82%), as well as seeds of wild plants, e.g., wild vetch (7.19 and 3.14%), catchweed (5.75 and 6.25%), trailing bindweed (2.88 and 4.27%), etc. The wood pigeon inhabits all districts of the Stavropol Region, which makes it a promising game bird species. In addition to cultivated plants, e.g., wheat, sunflower, peas, and corn, wood pigeons feed on a wide range of weeds. The research results contribute to scientific data on C. palumbus as a game bird and cast light upon some of its feeding patterns.