The common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), also known simply as the wood pigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the genus Columba, which includes closely related species such as the rock dove (Columba livia). It has a flexible diet, feeding mainly on plant material, including cereals, and is therefore considered an agricultural pest. Wood pigeons are extensively hunted over much of their range, but this does not appear to have a major impact on their population numbers.
In the colder northern and eastern parts of Europe and western Asia the common wood pigeon is a migrant, but in southern and western Europe it is a well distributed and often abundant resident. In Great Britain wood pigeons are commonly seen in parks and gardens[10] and are increasingly seen in towns and cities. In May 2019, a single wood pigeon was sighted in La Romaine, Quebec, Canada, making it the only known record of the species in the Americas.
