Head to head
Collared Dove vs Wood Pigeon
In a European garden the two pigeons on the lawn or the feeder are usually the collared dove and the wood pigeon. They differ enough in size, colour, and markings that a clear look settles it quickly, and their calls are distinct once learned.
| Collared Dove | Wood Pigeon | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | About 32 cm, slim | About 41 cm, bulky |
| Body colour | Uniform pale sandy grey-buff | Blue-grey with a pink breast |
| Neck mark | Thin black half-collar | Large white patches on the sides |
| Wing in flight | Plain, with dark tips | A broad white bar across each wing |
| Call | A flat, repeated three-note coo | A fuller five-note coo |
| History | A recent colonist, reached Britain in 1955 | Native, long established |
| Crop pest? | Minor; eats mostly waste grain and garden seed | Major pest of oilseed rape, clover, and grain |
| Display | A gliding flight with a nasal call | A steep climb with a sharp wing-clap |
Collared Dove vs Wood Pigeon: common questions
How do I tell a collared dove from a wood pigeon?
Size and markings do it. The collared dove is a slim, pale, sandy-coloured bird, noticeably smaller and more delicate, with a thin black line across the back of the neck and no strong markings anywhere else. The wood pigeon is a large, heavy, blue-grey bird with a pink flush to the breast, obvious white blobs on the sides of the neck, and, when it flies, a bold white stripe across each wing. In flight the wood pigeon is powerful and clattering with that white wing bar, while the collared dove is lighter and shows white in the tail corners rather than the wing. The calls are different too, a flat three-note coo for the collared dove and a rounder five-note phrase for the wood pigeon.
Are collared doves and wood pigeons the same kind of bird?
They are both pigeons, in the family Columbidae, but they are different species in different genera. The wood pigeon, Columba palumbus, belongs to the typical pigeons along with the rock pigeon and stock dove. The collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto, belongs to the turtle doves. In everyday English the words pigeon and dove are used loosely, often with dove reserved for smaller or paler species, but there is no strict biological line between them. So both birds are pigeons and both are doves, just of different groups within the family.
Which is the bigger garden problem?
For gardeners growing vegetables, the wood pigeon is the more serious pest, stripping brassicas such as cabbage, sprouts, and broccoli, taking peas and newly sown seed, and pulling at seedlings, and a flock can clear a bed quickly. It is also the main bird pest of farm crops in Britain. The collared dove does far less damage, feeding mostly on spilled grain, weed seeds, and food put out for birds, and its main nuisance is monopolising a feeder or cooing persistently from a rooftop at dawn. Neither bird is a meaningful disease risk to people. Netting or cages protect vulnerable crops from wood pigeons, and adjusting how and where seed is offered reduces collared dove numbers at a feeder.