The Current State of the Urban Population of the Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus L.) in Belgorod, Russia

The common wood pigeon has successfully colonised urban habitats in Europe over the past two centuries and this process continues to this day. The aim was to assess the state of the urban population of the species in Belgorod (Russia) during the breeding season. The majority of the research was conducted in June 2021 and May 2022. The average population density of the common wood pigeon in the city was 1.7 ± 1.2 pairs/10 ha, while the highest population density was observed in the recreational parks (2.8 ± 1.6 pairs/10 ha). The species started to utilise urbanised habitats for breeding around the 1990s, including the green residential areas with predominantly five-story housing blocks, where the current population density was 1.2 ± 0.3 pairs/10 ha. In general, the average population density of the common wood pigeon in Belgorod was significantly lower than that in other European urban areas. In the green residential areas with predominantly five-story housing blocks, nests were located on trees belonging to eight taxa. Nests were most often placed in linden (25.9% of the total number of nests found), birch (14.8%) and horse chestnut (14.8%). The height of nests above the ground varied from 7 to 16 m, averaging 11.1 ± 0.49 m. The data obtained indicated an urban population of the species having formed in the city and being at one of the final stages of synanthropisation.