Red Collared Dove

Overview

The red collared dove, also known as the red turtle dove, is a small pigeon and resident breeding bird in the tropics of Asia. It is an Oriental species that prefers wooded tracts and is the most common dove throughout Punjab.

Identification

• A relatively small species measuring 20.5–23 cm in length and weighing around 104 g.
• Males possess a bluish head and a light red-brown body marked by a distinct black ring around the neck.
• Females are much plainer, featuring pale brown or pinkish plumage similar to the larger Eurasian collared dove.

Habitat

This species is essentially a plains bird that extends from eastern Nepal and northeastern India to northern China and the Philippines, while remaining uncommon in the Indonesian archipelago. It favours better-wooded tracts such as canal or roadside tree plantations and avoids extensive desert regions and rocky foothills. A summer migration into the cultivated valleys of Afghanistan also occurs, where the bird breeds.

Did you know?

The specific epithet tranquebarica is derived from the town of Tranquebar, now known as Tharangambadi, located on the Coromandel Coast in southern India.