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.

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.

Listen to Call

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Voice Text

"hoo-hoooo-hoo", "krreeeew", "hwaah", "krreair"

• 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.
• Introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s, some migrated to Florida in the 1980s. 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; 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", "cote", "dole", "dule", and "flight" of doves.

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

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga