Eurasian Collared-Dove

The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a medium-large, pale sandy-gray dove native to Asia and Europe that has spectacularly expanded its range across North America since a small number of escaped or released birds became established in the Bahamas and Florida in the 1970s-80s. It is larger and paler overall than the native Mourning Dove, with a squared (not pointed) tail and a distinctive narrow black half-collar edged in white on the back of the neck, which gives the species its name.

Key field marks

• Pale, sandy-gray to buffy-gray overall plumage
• Narrow black half-collar edged with white on the nape
• Squared-off tail with a broad white terminal band, versus the pointed tail of Mourning Dove
• Larger and stockier than Mourning Dove, with a proportionally shorter tail

Similar species

Mourning Dove is smaller, darker, more uniformly brownish, lacks the neck collar, and has a long, pointed (not squared) tail. Ringed Turtle-Dove, an escaped cage bird sometimes seen locally, is smaller and paler still, essentially a domesticated form of a related species.

Habitat and Range

Eurasian Collared-Doves favor suburban and urban neighborhoods, farmyards, and open country with scattered trees or utility wires for perching, often near a reliable source of grain or bird feeders.

Range

Native to Asia and Europe, the species arrived in North America via the Bahamas in the 1970s and spread explosively across Florida and then the rest of the continental United States and southern Canada over the following decades, now found nearly nationwide.

Migration

Eurasian Collared-Doves are non-migratory and largely sedentary, though the species' overall range has expanded dramatically through dispersal of young birds rather than seasonal migration.

Behavior

These doves are often seen in pairs or small groups perched conspicuously on wires, rooftops, and bare tree branches, and can be locally abundant around grain sources.

Voice

The call is a monotonous, three-syllable "coo-COO-cup" or "kuk-KOOO-kook," repeated persistently and quite different in rhythm from the softer, more mournful call of the Mourning Dove.

Feeding

They feed mainly on seeds and grain, often visiting bird feeders and gathering in numbers around agricultural operations and grain spills.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs build a simple stick platform nest in a tree or on a structure and can breed nearly year-round in mild climates, raising multiple broods of typically two eggs each.