Japanese Wood Pigeon

The Japanese wood pigeon mainly inhabits forests formed by broadleaf evergreen trees such as Japanese bay trees (Machilus thunbergii). It is a large pigeon about 40 cm in size, and has black plumage like a crow. The bird breeds on islands south of central Honshu, along the coast of the southern Korean Peninsula, on Jeju Island, Ulleungdo Island, and other islands. Recent findings suggest that the Japanese wood pigeons inhabiting Ulleungdo Island spend their winter in the Oki Islands.
The cries of the pigeon can often be heard in the woods and forests of the Oki Islands. It eats fruits and seeds of the Japanese bay tree, chinquapin, Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), and others. It builds saucer-shaped nests on the branches of a tree by collecting twigs and withered branches, but sometimes nests on the ground of uninhabited islands.

  • Scientific Name

    Columba janthina

  • Classification

    Family Columbidae

  • Migratory Classification

    Resident bird in most places (nonmigratory)
    *Seasonal migration displayed on some islands