I know pigeons and doves can breed throughout the winter but I was a little shocked to see this woodpigeon without a white neck-collar today on the 7th Feb.I'm not sure if there is some form of abnormal moult going on here or is this simply a juvenile bird that hatched in the winter months moulting into adult plumage? Can any of you ringer sorts with a better grasp on moult help out here?
Juvenile Woodpigeons have a near-complete post-juvenile moult but suspend their moult (at whatever point they're at) during the winter months. Early hatched birds will have finished their moult by Nov/Dec and won't have any active moult to suspend. It is however quite common to see “first-winter” Woodpigeons that have suspended moult before completing moult of the primaries — these are presumably summer hatched birds. Late-hatched birds have little time to moult much (any) plumage before suspending moult in late-Nov/Dec. The moult starts up again in early spring. I'd guess by the amount of plumage moulted on this bird that it was hatched in about October. The blue-grey coverts/scapulars/head feather, the darker pink breast feathers and the hint of white on the neck were all likely moulted late last autumn before this bird suspended moult over the winter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Stephen.It's always nice to learn something new about common birds that you haven't noticed before. It's much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteHi, so is the bird photo above a wood pigeon as I have an injured one I have rescued and not sure what it is but looks like the photo above
ReplyDeleteYes wood pigeons take a bit longer than ferals to become adults and the collar can be delayed as long as a year in birds missing good nutrition & D3.
ReplyDeleteJuveniles are the birds most often brought to rehabilitators after being caught & maimed by predators. They're large bodied and can give a powerful wing punch using the edge of the wing. They also go for the eye of their enemy & ours soon see the huge Red kites off on their way.