I read (and saw) that they also do so called eye flashing (pinning). It's when they constrict their pupils. A rescued woodpigeon lives with me and he does all those things: hopping, preening under his wings and bowing. ❤
Eurasian Collared Doves, domestic Ringnecks, Rock Pigeons and their domestic and feral descendants, and Stock Doves also do the iris expansion, but dark red irises (Rock Pigeons, ECDs) or dark irises (Stock Doves) make this much less visible vs the pale yellow irises of Woodpigeons and some domestic flying Pigeons. Most parrots also do this. It's very visible in courting Budgerigars with normal eye coloration.
Thank you for this, we have some Woodies visiting every day & now I can under better what's going on. A pair of them lay down beak to tail in one of my bird baths the other day, no room the other way around. They just laid there for ages, cooling down I imagine. Lovely birds.
@jeandixon586 Longterm studies of ringed individuals confirm that Common Woodpigeons usually form permanent pair bonds. Both males and females will also "cheat". Males in breeding season routinely advertise their species, individual identity, and gender to other Woodpigeons with non targeted calling singing) from a conspicuous site, and in close range displays targeted at specific individuals, as with the bowing and ritual preening seen here. An unpaired male will ritual preen (gaze directly at the other bird's face, then swing his head back, and pull one of the secondary flight feathers in his folded wing through his bill, then resume eye contact) to prospective mates, along with hopping and performing his bowing display, as an invitation to pair bond. A paired male will invite mating with a female who may or may not be his partner the same way. Bonded males often ritual preen to their partners without performing the bowing display. If she is interested, she will bill with him several times before crouching. The female here is not interested in either mating with or pairing up with the male, and is likely already paired. If she was his partner, she would usually respond positively to his behavior.
Thank you for the video and information with it too. I must say I didn’t know it was the male doing the bowing, I do now. I get quite a few in my garden and I love to watch them. Thank you again for sharing your work 🙂
I'd love to have an answer to that question because the other day I saw a woodpigeon being courted by an other one, chasing the courting one away, and proceed to court a third one... I don't understand x)
Rarely, and usually only after cooperative nest site or roosting site defense with her partner against other Woodpigeons. Male Woodpigeons in breeding condition will bow to unfamiliar Woodpigeons. Females usually response by moving away, unless they are single. Other males will usually respond aggressively, and this is what you observed. This is how Woodpigeons learn to recognize other Woodpigeons as individuals by gender. (I doubt if they actually have abstract concepts of gender, but like all birds, they learn very quickly to recognize others of their kind as individuals.
@Shadowbannedandcensored I have an imprint wood pigeon. It's a female. She lays eggs, so it's 100% female. She periodically bows, purrs and jumps. The jump is associated with protecting the territory, and the bows and purrs are not very clear. Some kind of trance.
@Krang-e8j I have two tame female blue bar Rock Pigeons that display like males (revolving in complete revolutions during the "self assertive" version of the bowing display that can be a greeting or a challenge [females usually either just lower their heads and coo, or pivot from side to side as they do this]), and even drag and spread their tails while performing a courtship display. They also mount other Pigeons to mate, not just as a way of asserting dominance in a fight. Pigeon keepers here call these 'crazy hens'; and both have laid eggs. One of my female domestic Ringnecks does the same; she also bows as persistently as a male, and quite a few wild female Eurasian Collared Doves also bow about as much as males. The usual explanation (?) is that these birds were exposed to above average levels of testosterone during a critical stage of embryonic development, but most of the actual research on these 'tomboy' birds was done with Chickens and domestic Coturnix Quails.
There was a wood pigeon that kept visiting my garden but his tail was missing and he seemed to have an injured leg because he was limping, I’m guessing he was attacked by a cat or a fox. It was really sad one time when he was trying to bow in front of a female but he couldn’t open his tail feathers and kept stumbling over. 😢 Thankfully his tail grew back over time however I haven’t seen him in ages so idk if his leg ever healed, if it did then maybe he is still here but I no longer recognise him from the other pigeons now.
Woodpigeons are a source of constant entertainment. They bow, strut, squabble and flirt on my shed roof for hours. Better than watching TV!!!
Watching wood pigeons is never boring. The are such beautiful creatures. Thank you for your video!
Never a dull moment with pigeons, is there?
They're very underrated birds, always interesting to watch.
Wood pigeon romance dramas are so entertaining
I read (and saw) that they also do so called eye flashing (pinning). It's when they constrict their pupils. A rescued woodpigeon lives with me and he does all those things: hopping, preening under his wings and bowing. ❤
Oh wow - lucky you! And lucky him ♥️
Eurasian Collared Doves, domestic Ringnecks, Rock Pigeons and their domestic and feral descendants, and Stock Doves also do the iris expansion, but dark red irises (Rock Pigeons, ECDs) or dark irises (Stock Doves) make this much less visible vs the pale yellow irises of Woodpigeons and some domestic flying Pigeons. Most parrots also do this. It's very visible in courting Budgerigars with normal eye coloration.
Thank you for this, we have some Woodies visiting every day & now I can under better what's going on.
A pair of them lay down beak to tail in one of my bird baths the other day, no room the other way around. They just laid there for ages, cooling down I imagine.
Lovely birds.
Lovely footage of wood pigeon. Like.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video.
Great footage, I love his species! Kind regards, Rolf
this is so beautiful i'm gonna cry
Nice birds !
And madam turns her back and flies off 😂 How baby pigeons ever get made is a mystery to me! Beaut of a video!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching.
they eventually find an interested gal, it's not all rejection out there !
The male usually follows the female for some time until she accepts him
@jeandixon586 Longterm studies of ringed individuals confirm that Common Woodpigeons usually form permanent pair bonds. Both males and females will also "cheat". Males in breeding season routinely advertise their species, individual identity, and gender to other Woodpigeons with non targeted calling singing) from a conspicuous site, and in close range displays targeted at specific individuals, as with the bowing and ritual preening seen here.
An unpaired male will ritual preen (gaze directly at the other bird's face, then swing his head back, and pull one of the secondary flight feathers in his folded wing through his bill, then resume eye contact) to prospective mates, along with hopping and performing his bowing display, as an invitation to pair bond. A paired male will invite mating with a female who may or may not be his partner the same way. Bonded males often ritual preen to their partners without performing the bowing display. If she is interested, she will bill with him several times before crouching.
The female here is not interested in either mating with or pairing up with the male, and is likely already paired. If she was his partner, she would usually respond positively to his behavior.
Thank you for the video and information with it too. I must say I didn’t know it was the male doing the bowing, I do now. I get quite a few in my garden and I love to watch them.
Thank you again for sharing your work 🙂
They're not to everyone's liking but I always find them really interesting and entertaining to watch. Thanks for watching and have a great week!
They coming in my garden aswell
The WP's here use the bowing with tail splayed as a territorial threat display.
I love the bowing part! Our pidgies don't do that.
Really love it 😍😍😍
Funny little things
They are beautiful ! Greetings from Finland.
Marvelous!!!
From borb to blob
For female pigeons, "If you don't like the guy, just fly away."
Why are they so cute tho?? Most people I know hate woody's but I love them!! They are such loving birds
I like watching them groom each other. It's cute when they kiss each other's faces, even if it does look more like a peck!
Could a female woodpigeon use bowing and hopping too?
I'd love to have an answer to that question because the other day I saw a woodpigeon being courted by an other one, chasing the courting one away, and proceed to court a third one... I don't understand x)
I ve got the answer - certainly YES.
Rarely, and usually only after cooperative nest site or roosting site defense with her partner against other Woodpigeons.
Male Woodpigeons in breeding condition will bow to unfamiliar Woodpigeons. Females usually response by moving away, unless they are single. Other males will usually respond aggressively, and this is what you observed. This is how Woodpigeons learn to recognize other Woodpigeons as individuals by gender. (I doubt if they actually have abstract concepts of gender, but like all birds, they learn very quickly to recognize others of their kind as individuals.
@Shadowbannedandcensored I have an imprint wood pigeon. It's a female. She lays eggs, so it's 100% female. She periodically bows, purrs and jumps. The jump is associated with protecting the territory, and the bows and purrs are not very clear. Some kind of trance.
@Krang-e8j I have two tame female blue bar Rock Pigeons that display like males (revolving in complete revolutions during the "self assertive" version of the bowing display that can be a greeting or a challenge [females usually either just lower their heads and coo, or pivot from side to side as they do this]), and even drag and spread their tails while performing a courtship display. They also mount other Pigeons to mate, not just as a way of asserting dominance in a fight. Pigeon keepers here call these 'crazy hens'; and both have laid eggs. One of my female domestic Ringnecks does the same; she also bows as persistently as a male, and quite a few wild female Eurasian Collared Doves also bow about as much as males. The usual explanation (?) is that these birds were exposed to above average levels of testosterone during a critical stage of embryonic development, but most of the actual research on these 'tomboy' birds was done with Chickens and domestic Coturnix Quails.
There was a wood pigeon that kept visiting my garden but his tail was missing and he seemed to have an injured leg because he was limping, I’m guessing he was attacked by a cat or a fox. It was really sad one time when he was trying to bow in front of a female but he couldn’t open his tail feathers and kept stumbling over. 😢 Thankfully his tail grew back over time however I haven’t seen him in ages so idk if his leg ever healed, if it did then maybe he is still here but I no longer recognise him from the other pigeons now.
I saw them having a little date outside my window during sunset and doing the little dance and sitting together!
Птица мира❤️🕊️🕊️🕊️
That bowing is also used in aggression before they smack away a competing male.
Where can I find a pair of woodies
What bird is the chirping in the background?
The birds cheeping and chirping at the very beginning are House Sparrows. The chattering songs that follow are from a Chaffinch.
@@Shadowbannedandcensored Thank you so much! The Chaffinch's call is one i've been looking for for so long!
Baby food common wood, pigeon, please
What?