Hindi Name – Dhawal Kapotak
Species – Streptopelia Decaocto
Origin – Europe and Asia
Size – An average length of 32 cm from tip of beak to tip of tail, with a wingspan of 47–55 cm
Breeding season – Breeding occurs throughout the year when abundant food is available.
Family – Streptopelia Decaocto is the bird of the family Columbidae.
Description – It is a medium-sized dove, distinctly smaller than the wood pigeon, similar in length to a rock pigeon but slimmer and longer-tailed. It is grey-buff to pinkish-grey overall, a little darker above than below, with a blue-grey underwing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey and tipped white below. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is red and the eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow.
Breeding Season – Breeding occurs throughout the year when abundant food is available.
Diet – Grains, seeds, shoots and insects.
Habitat – Its original range at the end of the 19th century was warm temperate and subtropical Asia from Turkey east to southern China and south through India to Sri Lanka. It has been one of the great colonisers of the bird world, traveling far beyond its native range to colonise colder countries, becoming a permanent resident in several of them.
Key Features – The song is a goo-GOO-goo. The Eurasian collared dove also makes a harsh loud screeching call lasting about two seconds, particularly in flight just before landing. A rough way to describe the screeching sound is a hah-hah.
Eurasian collared doves cooing in early spring are sometimes mistakenly reported as the calls of early-arriving common cuckoos and, as such, a mistaken sign of spring’s return.