Laughing dove
Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a species in the family Columbidae, order Columbiformes. Recorded adults weigh 82.1 g to 103.2 g and live up to 5.75 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the laughing dove
- Weight
- 82.1 g – 103.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 5.75 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 5.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- 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 laughing dove live?
Not recorded
What is the laughing dove?
The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. This small long-tailed dove is found in dry scrub and semi-desert habitats where pairs can often be seen feeding on the ground. It is closely related to the spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) which is distinguished by a white and black chequered necklace. Other names include laughing turtle dove, palm dove and Senegal dove while in Asia the name little brown dove is often used.
From the Wikipedia article “Laughing dove” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laughing_dove&oldid=1375005179), 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.
What does the laughing dove sound like?
Is the laughing dove endangered?
The laughing dove is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the laughing dove classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderColumbiformes
- familyColumbidae
- genusSpilopelia
- SpeciesSpilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Columba bicincta, Columba senegalensis, Columba tsenegalensis, Stigmatopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia senegalensis, Streptopelia sengalensis, Turtur senegalensis
Other names and names in other languages (86)
- LADOEnglish
- Laughing turtle-doveEnglish
- Palm doveEnglish
- BlouduifieAfrikaans
- KerkhofduifieAfrikaans
- LemoenduifAfrikaans
- RooiborsduifieAfrikaans
- Rooiborsduifie (Lemoenduifie)Afrikaans
- الرُقطيّةArabic
- اليمامة الضاحكةArabic
- حمام الدبسيArabic
- فاختة النخيلArabic
- يمام الضاحكArabic
- يمام النخيلArabic
- Xırda qur-qurAzerbaijani
- Малка гургулицаBulgarian
- Сенегалска гургулицаBulgarian
- Turzhunell-balmezBreton
- tórtora del SenegalCatalan
- Изи тыргӓдӹMari
- hrdlička senegalskáCzech
- Turtur ChwerthinogWelsh
- PalmedueDanish
- PalmdueDanish
- PalmtaubeGerman
- SenegaltaubeGerman
- ΦοινικοτρύγονοGreek
- PalmturtoEsperanto
- palma turtoEsperanto
- Tórtola senegalesaSpanish
- tórtola del SenegalSpanish
- küla-turteltuviEstonian
- Senegalgo usapalBasque
- یاکریمPersian
- قمری خانگیPersian
- palmukyyhkyFinnish
- Tourterelle mailléeFrench
- Fearán pailmeIrish
- Rula senegalesaGalician
- צוצלתHebrew
- plavokrila grlicaCroatian
- pálmagerleHungarian
- Փոքր տատրակArmenian
- DíladúfaIcelandic
- Tortora delle palmeItalian
- ワライバトJapanese
- პატარა გვრიტიGeorgian
- სენეგალური გვრიტიGeorgian
- Кіші түркептерKazakh
- HamankuKuanyama
- mažasis purplelisLithuanian
- Senegalinis purplelisLithuanian
- palmu ūbeleLatvian
- തവിടൻ പ്രാവ്Malayalam
- Gamiema ta' l-IlwienMaltese
- छोटा तपकिरी होलाMarathi
- धुसर ढुकुरNepali
- PalmtortelDutch
- synogarlica senegalskaPolish
- ہسدی کگیWestern Panjabi
- CurucucoPortuguese
- rola-do-senegalPortuguese
- rola-dos-palmaresPortuguese
- Малая горлицаRussian
- BálbmaduvváNorthern Sami
- Hrdlicka maláSlovak
- hrdlička maláSlovak
- oazna grlicaSlovenian
- Leebana-khoroanaSouthern Sotho
- Senegalska grlicaSerbian
- Сенегалска грлицаSerbian
- palmduvaSwedish
- FumvuSwahili
- கள்ளிப்புறாTamil
- Kiçi gumryTurkmen
- Küçük KumruTurkish
- TsokwaneTswana
- GugurhwanaTsonga
- Мала горлицяUkrainian
- горлиця малаUkrainian
- Uy musichasiUzbek
- Chim ngói nâuVietnamese
- IcelekwaneXhosa
- 棕斑鳩Chinese
- 棕斑鸠Chinese
- uKhonzaneZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the laughing dove
Other species in the same genus Spilopelia.
Spotted dove
Spilopelia chinensis
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the laughing dove?
An adult laughing dove weighs 82.1 g – 103.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the laughing dove endangered?
The laughing dove is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the laughing dove live?
The laughing dove has a recorded lifespan of 5.75 years.
What kind of animal is the laughing dove?
The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/laughing-dove
“Laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/laughing-dove.
@misc{laughing_dove_2026,
title = {Laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/laughing-dove},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}