Le régime alimentaire du Pigeon ramier Columba palumbusaux abords de la plaine de la Mitidja (Nord Algérie)

Abstract

Diet of the Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus near the plain of Mitidja (northern Algeria) From March 2006 to May 2007, we studied the diet of the Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus in forest and suburban area near the Mitidja plain (northern Algeria). The species appears almost exclusively phytophagous, 26 of the 35 food items inventoried are of plant origin. The analysis of 36 stomach contents in forest shows that it is mainly granivorous in spring, and consumes 96.2 % of Oxalis pes-caprea seeds against 3.2 % for animals (Gastropods and Crustaceans). In autumn and winter, the plants constitute 100 % of the diet, dominated with 99.7 % by olives. The Wood Pigeon behaves in this site as an opportunistic species. Direct observations in suburban area indicate the exclusive consumption of 15 plant species with a clear preference for Fraxinus angustifolia (54.9 %). As a whole, 50 % of plants are searched for their seeds and 42.3 % of food items come from agricultural production. Near the Mitidja, the diet, almost exclusively phytophagous of the Wood Pigeon, consists essentially of plants different from those known in Europe, and the species appears to be opportunistic in forest but at the same time specialist in suburban areas.