Alternative name: Barbary Dove, African Turtle Dove, Pink-headed Collared-Dove, Ringed Turtle Dove, Rose-grey Dove
- Streptopelia roseogrisea
Identification
- Pale creamy buff
- White chin, belly and undertail coverts
- Black half-collar around back of neck
- Red eye
- Black bill
- Crimson feet
Distribution
Original range is Sub-Saharan Africa. Frequent escape in the United States. Introduced to New Zealand as a cage bird but has become feral.
Taxonomy
Polytypic. Consists of two subspecies.
Habitat
Savanna and thornscrub.
Behaviour
Noted for their gentle nature. Diet: They eat clover and weed seeds, split grain and newly sown or stubble grain supplemented with occasional invertebrates such as snails.
Breeding: Breeding is mainly between October and February and they re-nest several times a season. They lay 2 white eggs on a simple platform of twigs. Both adults incubate for about 15 days and the chicks fledge at about 15 days old
Vocalisation
Call: a persistent coo-crooo.
