Ring-necked dove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ring-necked dove |
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| S. c. damarensis Etosha National Park, Namibia |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Streptopelia
|
| Species: |
capicola
|
The ring-necked dove (also called the Cape turtle dove or half-collared dove) is a common bird found across East and southern Africa. These doves usually stay in one area and live in many different open places. You can often hear their special three-part cooing sound all year round. The dove gets its name from the black half-collar of feathers on the back of its neck. Like all doves, they need water to drink and bathe. In dry areas, many of them gather at waterholes.
Contents
What Does the Ring-necked Dove Look Like?
The feathers on the dove's upper body are dark grey and brown. Its neck has a pretty lavender shade. Below, the feathers are lighter, often with a pinkish-lavender tint. The lower belly and the feathers around its tail are white. Like other doves, their slate grey tail feathers have white edges and tips. This tail pattern is easy to see when they fly.
Ring-necked doves can look a bit different from each other. Some are lighter, and some are darker. Males and females look similar, but males are a little bigger. They are about 25 to 26.5 cm (10 to 10.4 in) long. They weigh between 92 and 188 grams (3.2 to 6.6 oz). Their eyes are almost black, their beak is black, and their feet are dark purple.
Young doves are not as bright in color. They also do not have the black half-collar that adult doves have. Their upper body and wing feathers have buff edges. The feathers on their lower body are broadly edged with greyish-white.
Where Do Ring-necked Doves Live?
Ring-necked doves live in many different places. These include dry scrublands, savannas with Boscia and Acacia trees, and various types of woodlands. They also live on farms, in open tree plantations, and in areas with alien acacia bushes. They do not live in thick forests or very dry sand dunes.
In southern Africa, you often see them in fynbos regions and miombo and mopane woodlands. They also live in grasslands, from wet to dry areas. They can live in grasslands because trees have been planted there, like around farmhouses.
These doves can be in danger at open waterholes or in plantations. Lanner falcons and black sparrowhawks hunt them. Other animals that prey on them include reptiles, wildcats, jackals, genets, herons, storks, eagles, and barn owls. Their nests are also at risk from birds, snakes, and even eastern grey squirrels in Cape Town.
Ring-necked doves move around more in tropical areas during different seasons. In dry areas, they move around to find food and water. They usually do not live higher than 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) above sea level.
How Do Ring-necked Doves Behave?
These doves are usually seen alone or in pairs. But they can form large groups around places where they sleep or find food and water. Sometimes, these groups have hundreds of birds! They are quite noisy in these groups. They make different calls throughout the day, and often on moonlit nights. Their wings also make a loud flapping sound when they fly.
Their song is a loud "kuk-COORRRR-uk, ..." sound. They might repeat this call many times. Sometimes, they make a repeated "wuh-ka-RROOO, ..." sound. When a dove lands on a branch, or comes to its mate on the nest, or chases another dove, it often makes a rough, growling "kooorr" or "knarrrrrr" call.
Ring-necked doves sleep in treetops at night. During the day, they look for food on the ground. They look for food mostly in the early morning and late afternoon. They drink water mainly in the morning. When they walk, their heads bob back and forth with each step.
What Do Ring-necked Doves Eat?
Ring-necked doves mostly eat seeds. These include seeds from grasses, cereal grains, lupins, milkweeds, alien acacias, and pines. They also eat pieces of fruit and berries from trees like oaks, gums, currants, and Lantana. Sometimes, they eat insects like earthworms, termites, and weevils. Other foods they have been seen eating include small sedge bulbs, juicy succulent leaves, aloe nectar, and sugary liquids from aphids.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Ring-necked doves are monogamous, meaning they have one mate. They also defend their nesting area. Males show off by flying steeply upwards, then spiraling down with their wings and tail spread. From a branch or on the ground, the male will bow and make a rolling cooing sound, “uk-carrroooo, ...”. While doing this, his throat inflates.
When a pair chooses a nest spot, they make a double coo sound with a long second part. The female builds a thin, platform-like nest in two to three days. She uses twigs and leaf stems that the male carefully chooses and brings to her. The nest is usually placed 2 to 10 meters (6.5 to 33 feet) above the ground, in a horizontal branch fork. Sometimes, they use an old nest built by another bird species.
The female lays two to four pure white eggs. Both parents help to incubate the eggs, which takes about two weeks. The chicks are fed regurgitated food by both parents. They are ready to fly after about 16 days. A pair can raise several groups of chicks (up to five) in one season.
Types of Ring-necked Doves
_(11855738115).jpg)
There are six different types, or subspecies, of the ring-necked dove. They mostly look different in the shade of their feathers. Doves from dry regions are usually paler and greyer.
- S. c. capicola – found in southwestern South Africa.
- S. c. abunda – found in central South Africa.
- S. c. damarensis – found in the dry inland areas of southern Africa.
- S. c. onguati – found in western Namibia and Angola.
- S. c. tropica – found in tropical and subtropical woodlands from South Africa to South Sudan.
- S. c. somalica – found from northern Tanzania to Somalia and Ethiopia.
Similar Birds
Many Streptopelia doves look very much alike. They all have half-collars and soft-colored feathers. The ring-necked dove can be told apart from the African collared dove by its call. It also has paler tail feather bases and grey, not pink, feathers on its head.
Just by looking, you might confuse it with other doves. These include the Eurasian collared dove, vinaceous dove, red-eyed dove, red collared dove, African mourning dove, or the Barbary dove. The Barbary dove is a popular pet bird, and some have escaped and live in the wild.
The red-eyed dove looks similar and has the same display flight. However, it has dark red eyes and is generally bigger and darker. Its belly is grey, and its tail tips are grey. The African mourning dove has more grey on its head and pale yellow eyes.
