The mourning collared dove or African mourning dove (''Streptopelia decipiens'') is a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primaril ...

which is a widespread resident breeding bird in

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

south of the

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. Despite its name, it is not related to the North American

mourning dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carol ...

(''Zenaida macroura''). This species is common or abundant near water. They often mingle peacefully with other doves.

Description

The mourning collared dove is a largish, stocky pigeon, up to 31 cm in length. Its back, wings and tail are pale brown. The head is grey and the underparts are pink, shading to pale grey on the belly. There is a black hind neck patch edged with white. The legs and a patch of bare skin around the eye are red. When flying, it shows blackish flight feathers and extensive white in the tail, the latter being a distinction from the similar but larger red-eyed dove. The call is a fast ''krrrrrrrr, oo-OO, oo''. Sexes are similar, but immatures are duller than adults, and have scalloping on the body feathers. African mourning dove (Streptopelia decipiens perspicillata).jpg, ''S. d. perspicillata'',

Lake Baringo Lake Baringo is, after Lake Turkana, the most northern of the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, with a surface area of and an elevation of . The lake is fed by several rivers: the Molo, Perkerra and Ol Arabel. It has no obvious outlet; the waters ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

African mourning dove (Streptopelia decipiens shelleyi).jpg, ''S. d. shelleyi'',

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Streptopelia decipiens -near Baringo Lake, Kenya -adult on nest-8.jpg, on a nest near

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Behaviour

The mourning collared dove's flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general.

Diet and feeding

Mourning collared doves eat grass seeds, grains and other vegetation. They are quite terrestrial, and usually forage on the ground. Unlike several other species in this genus, they are quite gregarious and often feed in groups.

Reproduction

It builds a stick nest in a tree, often a

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

, and lays two white eggs.

References

* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley,

External links

* Mourning collared dove
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q113218 mourning collared dove Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa mourning collared dove mourning collared dove