The red-eyed dove (''Streptopelia semitorquata'') 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 small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

that is widespread and common in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. It has been listed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

since 2004.

Taxonomy

The red-eyed dove was

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

by the German naturalist

Eduard Rüppell Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell, also spelled Rueppell (20 November 1794 – 10 December 1884) was a German Natural history, naturalist and List of explorers, explorer, best known for his collections and descriptions of plants and animals from ...

in 1835 from birds seen in the Taranta Mountains of Eritrea. He coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Columba semitorquata''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is combines the Latin ''semi-'' meaning "half-" or "small" and ''torquatus'' meaning "collared". The species is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

: no

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognised.

Description

The red-eyed dove's pale bluish gray forehead merges into a darker hue on the crown. The neck, breast, and underparts, are dark mauve-pink to wine-red, upperparts are grayish brown, and primaries are black. Outer wing-coverts are dark slaty blue. Flanks, sides of rump, and underwing-coverts are bluish gray. Rectrices are dark gray basally, light brownish gray on the terminal half. Neck has a black half-collar. Iris varies from yellowish to orange to red or orange-brown. Orbital skin is purplish red. Bill is black. Legs are purplish red. Most of the feathers have reddish buff or reddish brown edges and indistinct dark subterminal bars. Neck collar is indistinct and restricted to the sides of neck. Legs, orbital skin, and iris are dull. Sexes are alike. Juveniles are duller and browner. It is typically in length and . It is the largest of the “ringneck” species of dove. The red-eyed dove in the

Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...

are larger than those in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and coastal

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Distribution and habitat

It is distributed through most of sub-Saharan Africa, except in desert zones. It is a common, if not abundant, species in most habitats other than deserts. Like several other species in this genus, they are not particularly gregarious and often feed alone or in pairs. They can be found in forests near rivers.

Behavior

This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings, which are characteristic of pigeons in general.

References

External links

* Red-eyed dove
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Red-eyed dove
Structured guide to the species in southern Africa {{Taxonbar, from=Q1072609 red-eyed dove Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa red-eyed dove