''Streptopelia'' (collared doves and turtle doves) is a genus of 15 species of birds in the pigeon and dove family

Columbidae Columbidae is a bird Family (biology), family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the Order (biology), order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in ...

native to the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. These are mainly slim, small to medium-sized species. The upperparts tend to be buffy brown and the underparts are often a shade of pinkish-brown, and they have a characteristic black-and-white patch on the neck. They have cooing or purring songs, monotonous in some, restful and soothing in others. The genus divides into two groups, the collared dove group (11 species) with uniform upperparts and a black half-collar edged with white, and the turtle dove group (4 species) with patterned upperparts and a barred side panel on the neck. They range in size from the 20–23 cm red collared dove to the 33–35 cm

oriental turtle dove The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (''Streptopelia orientalis'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Central Asia east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations ...

. Most of the species are resident or disperse over short distances, but two (the European and

Oriental turtle dove The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (''Streptopelia orientalis'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Central Asia east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations ...

s) are long-distance migrants breeding in temperate areas and wintering in the tropics. The sexes are not differentiated in most of the species, except for the red collared dove, where the males are orange-red with a greyish head, and the females a duller brown. As a group, this genus is highly successful; several species are abundant in a range of habitats in the tropics, with three species having a more extensive distribution into temperate areas as well. The

Eurasian collared dove The Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto''), often simply just collared dove, is a dove species native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. It has also been introduced to Japan, North and Central America, and the islands in the Cari ...

(''Streptopelia decaocto'') in particular has expanded naturally out of its original range of the warmer temperate regions from southeastern Europe to India to colonise the rest of Europe, reaching as far west as Great Britain by 1960 and Ireland soon after, and also east across northern China to Japan. It has also been introduced into the Americas where it has now colonised most of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and is still spreading rapidly. Some other species have been less successful in recent years, with two species listed by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

as Vulnerable.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Streptopelia'' was described in 1855 by the French ornithologist

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist, and a nephew of Napoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal ...

. The name is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

στρεπτός (''streptós'') – literal meaning "twisted" but, by extension, "wearing a

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

" (i.e., twisted metal collar) – and πέλεια (''péleia'') meaning "wild dove". Also in 1855, the English zoologist

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoology, zoologist and author, and head of the Ornithology, ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum, London f ...

designated the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

as ''Streptopelia risoria'', the

Barbary dove The Barbary dove, ringed turtle dove, ringneck dove, ring-necked turtle dove, or ring dove (''Streptopelia risoria'') is a domestic member of the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae). Taxonomy and domestication The Barbary dove was formally ...

. Although ''Streptopelia risoria'' has been confirmed as a valid name by the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

, the Barbary dove is generally treated as a domesticated form of the African collared dove ''Streptopelia roseogrisea''.

Species

The genus contains 15 species: The genera ''

Spilopelia ''Spilopelia'' is a genus of doves that are closely related to ''Streptopelia'' and '' Nesoenas'', but distinguished from them by differences in morphology and genetics. Some authors had argued that ''Stigmatopelia'' is the valid name as it appea ...

'' and '' Nesoenas'' were formerly included in ''Streptopelia'', but have since been separated out to make the genus

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

References

{{Authority control Bird genera Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte