The diet consists largely of seeds, beech mast and grain picked up on the ground. The Stock Dove often forages in fields, clear-cuts and woodland edges, sometimes together with Common Wood Pigeons. The availability of acorns and beech mast in autumn is of great importance for the birds' condition ahead of migration. The availability of old, hollow trees is decisive for the Stock Dove, and conserving older deciduous woodland and pasture trees benefits the species directly.