FACTORS AFFECTING EGG‐WEIGHT, BODY‐WEIGHT AND MOULT OF THE WOODPIGEON COLUMBA PALUMBUS
Authors: Murton R. K. , Westwood N. J. , Isaacson A. J. 
Published: April 2008

The heaviest clutches (2 eggs) laid by Woodpigeons Columba palumbus in a Cambridgeshire study area weighed 30% more than the lightest. Yet the variation in egg‐weight within clutches was less than 1 %. Irrespective of initial weight, eggs lost weight at the same constant rate during incubation. Heavy eggs hatched more successfully than light eggs and none weighing less than 16 g hatched. There was no correlation between chicks' weight at hatching and their weight at day 6 during the July‐September part of the breeding season. The ability to feed crop milk at this stage could compensate for low chick‐weight, but this might not be true early in the season. Weight at day 6 was correlated with the weight at day 16 or 17. The growth pattern is discussed.

Chicks in broods of one achieved a higher weight at day 17 than those in broods of two. The survival rate both in and after leaving the nest was the same in both brood‐sizes. Chick‐weight in artificially created broods of three was almost as high as in broods of two, but again data refer to the July‐September period when abundant cereal food is available. Survival before and after fledging was lower in broods of three.

Clutch‐ and egg‐weight declined from April until September. It is suggested that this is adaptive, in that the adults produce heavier eggs when food supplies are most difficult to collect. The critical period probably occurs during the few days when the adult must produce crop milk and the young cannot be left unattended. Thus egg‐weight depends on the female's capacity to acquire nutrients, and is related to the needs of embryonic development and the amount of compensation in nutrient supply which can be provided immediately after hatching. But clutch‐size is more related to the bird's ability to feed and rear young to the point of fledging, thereby influencing the number of offspring which survive to leave progeny. Egg‐weight and female body‐weight were positively correlated in females weighing less than 480 g but not in heavier females. First‐year birds did not acquire adult weight until midsummer and they would probably produce light eggs if they could breed before this month. However, their gonads do not recrudesce until July and this prevents them breeding in the spring.

Seasonal changes in body‐weight and fat content of adults and first‐year birds are described and discussed; differences were noted between adult males and females which were considered to be adaptive.

The moult is described. It begins in April and continues until November, approximately one pair of primaries being replaced per month. The moult ceases during the winter months, when it is known that food supplies become limiting.

Woodpigeons lay light eggs relative to their body‐weight but can achieve the extra parental care needed for the altricial chicks by producing crop milk. Because the moult is extended, the energy demands of moulting and breeding combined are relatively low and this enables the Woodpigeon to have a long breeding season and to moult coincidentally.