CreatureData

African collared dove

Streptopelia roseogrisea (Sundevall, 1857)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea) is a species in the family Columbidae, order Columbiformes. Recorded adults weigh 148 g to 165 g and live up to 12 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea)
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the African collared dove

Weight
148 g – 165 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
12 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the African collared dove live?

Not recorded

What is the African collared dove?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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 (10 in) in length and 130–166 g weight. Its upper body, from shoulders to tail, is a pale greyish brown, though the wing edge has a bluish tinge. The flight feathers are darker, and nearly black. The head, neck and breast are pinkish shading to white on the chin and belly. There is no sexual dimorphism.

Two subspecies are currently accepted, though the genetic difference is minimal and the species may be better considered monotypic.

Streptopelia roseogrisea roseogrisea — nominate subspecies; across Africa in the Sahel region just south of the Sahara Desert east to north-central Sudan

Streptopelia roseogrisea arabica (Neumann, 1904) — northeast Sudan to Eritrea and Somalia, and southwestern Arabia; slightly darker than nominate

The African collared dove is the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary dove; some in the past have suggested that the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) may also have been involved, but there is only minimal evidence to support this. The African collared dove is able to interbreed 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 has a diet of grass seeds and other plants. They would also eat berries, insects, and snails.

From the Wikipedia article “African collared dove” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_collared_dove&oldid=1380728809), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the African collared dove endangered?

The African collared dove is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the African collared dove classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderColumbiformes
  5. familyColumbidae
  6. genusStreptopelia
  7. SpeciesStreptopelia roseogrisea (Sundevall, 1857)

Synonyms Columba alba, Columba risoria, Columba roseogrisea, Streptopelia risoria, Streptopelia risoria, Streptopelia roseogrisea risoria

Other names and names in other languages (60)
  • ACDOEnglish
  • African collared-doveEnglish
  • Barbary doveEnglish
  • Pink-headed doveEnglish
  • Pink-headed turtle doveEnglish
  • Ringed turtle doveEnglish
  • Ringed turtle-doveEnglish
  • Rose-grey doveEnglish
  • LemoenduifAfrikaans
  • يمام مطوق افريقيArabic
  • يمامة مطوقة افريقيةArabic
  • Tordoleta rosigrisaAragonese
  • СмехуркаBulgarian
  • Turzhunell doñvBreton
  • Tórtora de collarCatalan
  • tórtora rosa i grisaCatalan
  • hrdlička chechtaváCzech
  • turtur dorchog AffricaWelsh
  • SkoggerdueDanish
  • LachtaubeGerman
  • Nordafrikanische LachtaubeGerman
  • sahela turtoEsperanto
  • Rozgriza turtoEsperanto
  • tórtola rosigrisSpanish
  • Paloma de collar africanaSpanish
  • Tórtola collarinaSpanish
  • Tórtola de collarSpanish
  • Tórtola rosigrísSpanish
  • naeru-turteltuviEstonian
  • saharanturturikyyhkyFinnish
  • Tourterelle rieuseFrench
  • Fearán bándeargIrish
  • תור צווארון אפריקניHebrew
  • תור צוחקHebrew
  • sahelska gugutkaCroatian
  • kacagó gerleHungarian
  • Észak-afrikai kacagógerleHungarian
  • HláturdúfaIcelandic
  • Tortora dal collare africanaItalian
  • バライロシラコバトJapanese
  • purplelis cukriukasLithuanian
  • Āfrikas gredzenūbeleLatvian
  • LachduifDutch
  • Barbarijse tortelDutch
  • IzabeltortelDutch
  • saheldueNorwegian
  • cukrówkaPolish
  • rola-rosadaPortuguese
  • Сахельская горлицаRussian
  • Дикая смеющаяся горлицаRussian
  • SahalinduvváNorthern Sami
  • sahelduvváNorthern Sami
  • hrdlička chichotaváSlovak
  • smejačicaSlovenian
  • Afrička gugutkaSerbian
  • skrattduvaSwedish
  • Afrika KumrusuTurkish
  • горлиця мавританськаUkrainian
  • 粉头斑鸠Chinese
  • 粉頭斑鳩Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the African collared dove

Other species in the same genus Streptopelia.

LC, Least Concern
Red-eyed dove (Streptopelia semitorquata)

Red-eyed dove

Streptopelia semitorquata

Columbidae

CompareAfrican collared dove vs Eurasian collared doveAfrican collared dove vs European turtle doveAfrican collared dove vs Oriental turtle doveAfrican collared dove vs Red collared dove

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the African collared dove?

An adult African collared dove weighs 148 g – 165 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the African collared dove endangered?

The African collared dove is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the African collared dove live?

The African collared dove has a recorded lifespan of 12 years.

What kind of animal is the African collared dove?

The African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea) belongs to the family Columbidae in the order Columbiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-collared-dove

MLA

“African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-collared-dove.

BibTeX
@misc{african_collared_dove_2026,
  title = {African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-collared-dove},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}