African collared dove

African collared dove
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Genus:	Streptopelia
Species:	S. roseogrisea
Binomial name
Streptopelia roseogrisea (Sundevall, 1857)
Synonyms
Streptopelia risoria

African Collared Dove egg - MHNT

The African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea) is a small dove found in the Sahel, northern parts of the Horn of Africa and southwestern Arabia. Although it lives in arid lands, it is found around water sources.

This bird is typically around 26 cm in length. Its upper body, from shoulders to tail, is a pale grayish brown, though the wing edge has a bluish tinge. Flight feathers are darker, and nearly black. Head, neck and breast are pinkish shading to white on the chin and belly. There is little sexual dimorphism.

The African collared dove is the species thought to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary dove, though some suggest the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) may also have been involved. The African collared dove is able to hybridise with the Barbary dove, and it is thought that the increase in the range of colours of Barbary doves available that occurred in the later 20th century was the result of the importation of African collared doves into the United States for interbreeding.

It is reported to have been introduced into New Zealand, but it is more likely that the birds there are descended from domestic Barbary doves.

External links

• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds