Wood Pigeons
There’s nothing as peaceful as the soft cooing of the wood pigeons, especially in the early Summer evenings. These intelligent birds are capable of eating a banquet of food without ever getting too full!
Here's some fun facts about wood pigeons
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Wood pigeons look a bit slow when pottering about on the ground but are incredibly fast in the air and can fly up to 50 miles per hour.
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Wood pigeons use their beaks like a straw and drink with their heads down, unlike other bords who have to scoop up water and tilt their heads back to swallow.
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Their tummies can cope with huge amounts of food, and they can stuff up to 150 acorns or a 1,000 grains in a stretchy pouch in their throat to digest overnight.
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They have so many feathers that their weight is more than the weight of a wood pigeon’s skeleton.
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Wood pigeons are also very clever and in one experiment they were taught to tell the difference between paintings by Picasso and Monet!
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A group of wood pigeons is called a flock.
How Your Family Can Help Wood Pigeons
Wood pigeons aren’t very good at using bird feeders, so a ground level bird table is best to give them a snack of seeds, oats or sunflower hearts.
Wood pigeons love a bath! A shallow bowl with a solid base filled with fresh water in an open spot is ideal for them to safely have a wash and a drink.