19 Mourning Collared Dove Facts You’ll Never Forget

Mourning collared doves (Streptopelia decipiens), often confused Eurasian collared doves, are birds native to the African continent. There are around six subspecies of the bird: Streptopelia decipiens ambigua, Streptopelia decipiens perspicillata, Streptopelia decipiens elegans, Streptopelia decipiens shelleyi, Streptopelia decipiens decipiens, and Streptopelia decipiens logonensis.

These birds can exist quite well with other birds in their range, which is in stark contrast to the Eurasian collared doves from areas of North America like Florida and Europe.

Eurasian collared doves are known for chasing off other blue jays, mourning doves, and cardinal birds from bird feeders where they feed on!

On the other hand, mourning collared doves are known to have seeds and grain as food. Apart from seeds and grain, the bird also reportedly will feed on termites as a source of food!

If you want to know more about the mourning collared dove, please scroll down. You can also take a look at these brown-fronted woodpecker facts and fruit dove facts for more.

Mourning Collared Dove Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a mourning collared dove?

The mourning collared dove (Streptopelia decipiens) is a species of dove bird that is native to the continent of Africa. They are often confused with similar species such as the North American Eurasian collared dove and the red-eyed dove from Africa.

What class of animal does a mourning collared dove belong to?

The mourning collared dove belongs to the class of Aves or birds. They belong to the genus Streptopelia to which many pigeons and doves belong to.

The genus has around 15 species in them! The scientific name of the mourning collared dove is Streptopelia decipiens, while their cousin, from areas of North America like Florida, the Eurasian collared doves have the scientific name Streptopelia decaocto.

How many mourning collared doves are there in the world?

Even though mourning collared doves are one of the most widespread collared dove species found in Africa, their exact population is not really known. In contrast, we do know the population of the Eurasian collared doves, which is thought to be in the range of 40-75 million spread across the continent of North America, Europe, and Asia.

However, the population range and habitat range of both these species are thought to be human activities like deforestation and climate change affecting the wildlife.

Where does a mourning collared dove live?

Unlike the North American mourning dove which they are not related to, the mourning collared dove is found in close proximities to water bodies in and around evergreen trees and forests and acacia tree thickets in the savanna regions of Africa.

Of course, since they are endemic to the continent of Africa, these species of birds are not found on the continents of Europe, Asia, or North America like the Eurasian collared dove and the mourning dove from North America.

Within Africa, the mourning collared dove has a range that stretches from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Chad in the west to areas like Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Down south, the population of this bird is seen in areas like Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.

What is a mourning collared dove's habitat?

Different types of behavior from the mourning collared dove, like feeding, breeding, and nesting, center around a primary source of water amongst wildlife and the trees. The most common amongst the trees, where they choose to build their nests, is the acacia tree.

The balsa wood tree or the Aeschynomene elaphroxylon is another common site where their roosting behavior can be observed. Interestingly, this bird species have been sighted as high an elevation range as 4593-6561 ft (approx 1400-2000 m).

Who does mourning collared dove live with?

These collared dove birds from Africa are known to exist quite peacefully within their ranks. These birds are always seen either leading a solitary life or living together in a pair.

However, flocks may be formed as part of the collared dove's feeding habit, especially when near that primary water source around which the bird is known to lead its life and feed on seeds from the ground.

How long does a mourning collared dove live?

While we do not really know about the mourning collared dove's lifespan in the wild, average collared doves have been observed to have an average longevity of five to six years. According to many sources in Europe and Florida, the Eurasian collared doves survive for around three to four years.

Thus, we can assume that the mourning collared doves have an average lifespan that mirrors the other collared doves like the Eurasian collared dove.

How do they reproduce?

Unfortunately, very little is known about the reproduction and breeding of these birds. The male and female birds are from a monogamous pair.

This pair has been observed to breed throughout the year, with reported peaks in the months of winter in areas like Zimbabwe.

These nests are built with twigs and are considered to be quite well-hidden from view. A single nest can be around 10 ft (3.1m) from the ground, while a nest built on an exotic tree can be about 16.5 ft (5 m) from the ground.

Now, once the breeding is over, the female lays around two eggs in a nest. Females will then incubate them in the nest for a period of two weeks.

As the chicks hatch, the young bird will start developing flight feathers and wings after a time of a little over two weeks.

Interestingly, both males and females construct the nest but only the female is thought to incubate and take care of the chicks in the nest. The data on the total numbers of broods per year is inconclusive, but we can assume that they have five to six broods inferring from the other doves.

What is their conservation status?

Due to their abundance in the African continent, the mourning collared dove's conservation status is Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List. This is similar to the Least Concern status of the Eurasian collared doves which are also found abundantly in areas of Europe and North America (Florida).

Mourning Collared Dove Fun Facts

What does a mourning collared dove look like?

This bird is known to have gray-colored nape of the neck and crown. The throat and other parts of the neck are whitish-mauve while there is a dark stripe 'collar' on the feathers on the back of the neck.

The body of the bird is usually rosy-gray with the legs wine-ish in color. The upper tail feathers and the inner wing is brown, while the tip of the tail has white tail feathers along with brownish-grey wing plumage on the upper side of the wings. The white-tipped tail is also present in the Eurasian collared doves.

The iris of the bird is red-orangish with an inner ring in yellow. It is very difficult to tell the two sexes apart.

Young birds have are brownish in coloration, with the young ones even having a brown iris.

How cute are they?

Doves are quite adorable for their calm nature and the mourning collared doves are no different. They can be quite pleasant to look at when they open their wings to get ready for flight.

How do they communicate?

The birds are known to communicate with the young and each other in their flocks through sounds. They can make a call during a flight and even has a long cooing call.

How big is a mourning collared dove?

The mourning collared dove's size is in the range of 11-12 in (28-31 cm), which is slightly bigger than the Inca dove.

How fast can a mourning collared dove fly?

The flight speed of the mourning collared doves has not been estimated yet.

How much does mourning collared dove weigh?

This dove has a bodyweight of 4.9-8.1 oz (140-23o g), which is a lot more than the diamond doves.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Males and females of this species are called cocks and hens respectively.

What would you call a baby mourning collared dove?

The young birds of the species can be called juveniles or chicks.

Are they dangerous?

No, these birds are not dangerous at all.

Would they make a good pet?

These birds are not domesticated by bird feeders like the Eurasian collared doves, so it would be best if we leave them to their native habitats.

Did you know...

This bird is often confused with the red-eyed dove.

The Afrikaans name of this species is Rooioogtortelduif.

A collared dove usually symbolizes peace!

How do you tell if a collared dove is male or female?

It is very difficult to tell the difference in sexes for the collared doves. The one plausible way to do it is through observing their sizes.

Are mourning doves friendly?

Yes, mourning doves are peaceful and friendly creatures.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these broad-billed hummingbird facts and snow mountain quail facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable mourning collared dove coloring pages.