Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2022 number 5

In the course of adaptation of birds to living in urban areas, separate urban populations are formed, which are distinct by many biological and ecological characteristics from birds of the same species that inhabit natural environments. The Woodpigeon is one of the most common representatives of synurbic bird species that successfully managed to spread to cities in most of Europe. This article explores the history of formation of synurbic Woodpigeon groups in Belarus and looks at the differences in the breeding biology of forest and urban birds based on research in 2000-2021. During this period, we collected information about 109 Woodpigeon nests in forest areas and 368 nests in urban areas. In the course of our research, we found out that the synurbic Woodpigeon continues spreading to the north and east parts of Belarus. By now, urban birds live in around 70 % of the entire territory of the country. Our analysis of the Woodpigeon breeding biology showed that there are differences between forest and urban birds that stem from the fact that the latter live in urban areas. Despite the absence of clear differences in the phenology of the arrival of the Woodpigeon in cities and natural landscapes, the nesting period of urban birds starts earlier and lasts much longer. In addition, the share of birds that breeding more than one time a season is larger than in forest birds. The peculiarities of nesting sites observed in urban birds as opposed to wild birds result from the peculiarities of urban green spaces and the effect of predation. We discovered that in spring (April - May) the share of nest failures peaks. The breeding success of the Woodpigeon in urban areas amounts to 52 % of all nesting cases.