How to Identify aEurasian Collared-Dove
Streptopelia decaocto · 11.4–13.4 in (29–34 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Uniform pale gray-buff with a narrow black crescent edged white across the hindneck, and black wingtips. Sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: stevem4560 / Wikimedia, CC BY 4.0 · Second photo: Dimitri “Diti” Torterat / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 fr
Field marks
- Thin black half-collar across the back of the neck
- Squared tail tip with broad white corners below
- Paler and grayer than a Mourning Dove, with no black spots on the wing
- Dark eye set in a pale face
Similar species
What it sounds like
A repetitive three-note "coo-COO-cuk" with the emphasis in the middle, plus a harsh nasal call on landing.
Behaviour that gives it away
Spread across the continent at remarkable speed after escaping captivity in the Bahamas, reaching Florida in the 1980s and now found coast to coast.
Habitat & range
Towns, suburbs, farmyards and grain-handling areas across most of the United States.
When you'll see it
Present all year in North America.
What it eats
Seeds and grain, largely taken from the ground and around feeders.
Did you know?
Released birds in the Bahamas reached Florida in the 1980s, and the species has since colonised most of North America — one of the fastest bird expansions ever recorded.
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