Birdpass
English
Eurasian Collared Dove

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Identify the Eurasian Collared Dove by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

  • Download on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play

The Eurasian Collared Dove is a pale grey-buff dove with a narrow black half-collar on the nape. Originally from South Asia and the Middle East, it spread across Europe in the 20th century in one of the most remarkable range expansions of any bird, and it has since colonised North America. It lives around people in towns, villages and farmland and gives a monotonous three-note coo.

Did you know?

  • Its name decaocto means “eighteen” in Greek, linked to a folk tale about its call.
  • North America's population descends from fewer than 50 birds that escaped in the Bahamas in 1974.

Voice

Song

About the species

Identification

A pale grey-brown dove with the back darker than the underparts. Adults have a clear black half-collar on the nape; from below, the tail feathers are dark at the base and white at the tips. It is smaller and plainer than Wood Pigeon. The voice is a characteristic monotonous, three-syllable cooing.

Family

Columbidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

brown, grey, black, white

About the habitat

Villages, towns, farmyards, parks and open farmland with scattered trees and hedges; it avoids dense forest.

Diet

Mainly seeds and grain, often spilled cereals at farms and feeders; also buds, berries and occasionally small invertebrates.

Behaviour

Often tame, it feeds on the ground in pairs or small groups and perches on wires and rooftops. It sings a repetitive, three-syllable “coo-COO-coo” and gives a harsh, nasal call on landing. In display it climbs steeply and glides down in a spiral. It builds a flimsy stick nest in trees or on buildings and may breed almost year-round. Young birds disperse widely.

Sources

Photo: stevem4560, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2022-04-06 Streptopelia decaocto, Plovdiv, Bulgaria 1.jpg

Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Streptopelia_decaocto_-_Eurasian_Collared_Dove_XC82758.mp3

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_collared_dove

See also