Eurasian Collared-Dove

Streptopelia decaoctoOrder: COLUMBIFORMES Family: Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)

Codes: Common Name: EUCD Scientific Name: STRDEC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177139

Eurasian Collared-Dove Breeding Male Small Portrait

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Overview

Eurasian Collared-Dove: Medium dove, pale gray overall with darker cinnamon-brown wash over back. Nape is ringed with half-black collar that does not extend to throat. Wings are mottled gray with dark primaries. Tail is long, broad, edged with white (black near base). Pink legs, feet.

Range and Habitat

Eurasian Collared-Dove: Native of India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar; also widespread in Europe. Introduced to the U.S.; occurs from Florida to Texas, and may be displacing native doves.

Topo Map: Pigeon-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"Hoo-hoooo-hoo", "krreeeew"

Interesting Facts

The Eurasian Collared-Dove is one of two species that have been argued to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary Dove.

Their scientific name, Streptopeleia decaocto, literally means a collar (streptos) dove (peleia). In Greek mythology, Decaocto was an overworked, underpaid servant girl. The gods heard her prayers for help and changed her into a dove so she could escape her misery. The dove’s call still echoes the mournful cries of her former life.

They were introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s. In the 1980s, some migrated to Florida. They went unnoticed at first because they look much like the Ringed Turtle-Dove. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that ornithologists realized the suddenly prolific and quickly spreading "turtle-doves" they were watching were actually Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Their impact on native species is unknown; they appear to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Mourning Dove and Rock Pigeon; some have suggested that their spread represents exploitation of a niche made available by the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon.

A group of doves has many collective nouns, including "a bevy of doves", "cote of doves", "dole of doves", "dule of doves", and a "flight of doves."

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Related Birds

Mourning Dove
Spotted Dove
White-winged Dove
Yellow Rail
Key West Quail-Dove
Oriental Turtle-Dove

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Eurasian Collared-Dove

● Song: "Hoo-hoooo-hoo", "krreeeew"

● Foraging & Feeding: Eurasian Collared-Dove: Eats mostly seeds, some greens, soft fruits, and garbage. Forages on the ground but also picks berries from bushes.

● Breeding & nesting: Eurasian Collared-Dove: Two white eggs are laid in a nest made of twigs and dry stalks, and built from 6 to 7 feet above the ground in a tree, shrub, or sometimes balcony or eave of a building. Incubation ranges from 14 to 18 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Eurasian Collared-Dove: Mourning Dove is smaller, lacks collar, and has gray-brown upperparts, and long, pointed tail with white tips.

Flight Pattern

Swift strong direct flight on rapidly beating wings.

Eurasian Collared-Dove Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Eurasian Collared-Dove: Native of India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar; also widespread in Europe. Introduced to the U.S.; occurs from Florida to Texas, and may be displacing native doves.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationFairly common to common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight5.4 Ounces

Pigeon-like Body

Collar

Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

Primaries

The primaries are the flight feathers specialized for flight. They are attached to the "hand" equivalent part of the wing.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America