Garden Wildlife
Garden Wildlife
Garden Wildlife
Garden Wildlife
What do they look like?
They are small pigeons (32cm), much more dainty that the woodpigeon and feral pigeon. They are a uniform warm buff colour, with a distinctive narrow stripe or collar at the base of the neck, blackish brown below and pale above. The wing is darker brown and the tail is rather long, dark brown with a broad white band at the end. The eye is dark red and the bill black. The feet are red. Males and females are pretty much alike. Juveniles lack the distinctive collar, but size and elegance separates them from the woodpigeon. See our pigeons page to compare with other species.
What do they sound like?
The Collared Dove has one of the most monotonous bird calls when repeated frequently! It is a harsh nasal ‘nyer’ sound usually uttered three times. The song is similar to the woodpigeon but with three notes "coo-COO-coo" instead of five, and less throaty, higher pitched and much more repetitive. If you have a pair nesting outside your bedroom they can drive you mad if they start up in the very early morning.
Call Song
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
This is the second most common pigeon/dove found in UK gardens. It was unknown as a breeding bird in the UK until the 1950’s, when a sudden spread from Asia Minor and the Balkans in the early 20th century brought the first birds to British shores. It rapidly spread throughout Britain and Ireland and soon became common in suburban areas which it seems to prefer to city centres and the rural surrounds. They seem to like living around human habitations.
What do they eat?
Collared doves eat mainly grains seeds and fruit; they feed largely on the ground on scattered grain and seed below feeders.
What do they do?
In suburban areas collared doves are often seen perched prominently in tree and on lamp-posts, setting out their territories with circular flights from the perch. In Germany they are called Die Fernsehtaube, 'the television dove' because they like sitting on TV aerials. They circle once or twice and then glide back to their perch uttering the nasal call that can get so irritating when repeated from dawn to dusk out outside your house. Collared doves are resident all year round, apparently not migrating significantly. This is surprising in some ways since they only recently arrived in their north-westerly spread and one might think that indicated strong migratory tendencies. Like woodpigeons, collared doves breed through much the year.
How are they doing?
As noted above, the collared dove is a relative newcomer to NW Europe, arriving en masse in the 1950’s as part of a great dispersal from SE Europe and Asia Minor. They increased in numbers very rapidly during the 1960’s but in recent years they have declined in some areas. In Britain and Ireland they tend to be less abundant to the north and east and in higher ground. They are the tenth most commonly reported garden bird, with a summer population of 810,000 pairs. They are much more commonly seen in villages and towns than in woodland or farmland and even seem less common in the countryside than in suburbs, probably because buildings are further apart.
Finding out more:
BTO profile on collared dove
RSPB profile on collared dove
Page written by Roy Smith, compiled by Steve Head
Irish Wildlife Sounds, XC618193. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/618193.
Irish Wildlife Sounds, XC621402. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/621402
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
This is the second most common pigeon/dove found in UK gardens. It was unknown as a breeding bird in the UK until the 1950’s, when a sudden spread from Asia Minor and the Balkans in the early 20th century brought the first birds to British shores. It rapidly spread throughout Britain and Ireland and soon became common in suburban areas which it seems to prefer to city centres and the rural surrounds. They seem to like living around human habitations.
What do they look like?
They are small pigeons (32cm), much more dainty that the woodpigeon or feral pigeon. They are a uniform warm buff colour, with a distinctive narrow stripe or collar at the base of the neck, blackish brown below and pale above. The wing is darker brown and the tail is rather long, dark brown with a broad white band at the end. The eye is dark red and the bill black. The feet are red. Males and females are pretty much alike. Juveniles lack the distinctive collar, but size and elegance separates them from the woodpigeon. See our pigeons page to compare with other species.
What do they sound like?
The Collared Dove has one of the most monotonous bird calls when repeated frequently! It is a harsh nasal ‘nyer’ sound usually uttered three times. The song is similar to the woodpigeon but with three notes "coo-COO-coo" instead of five, and less throaty, higher pitched and much more repetitive. If you have a pair nesting outside your bedroom they can drive you mad if they start up in the very early morning.
Call Song
What do they eat?
Collared doves eat mainly grains seeds and fruit; they feed largely on the ground on scattered grain and seed below feeders.
What do they do?
In suburban areas collared doves are often seen perched prominently in tree and on lamp-posts, setting out their territories with circular flights from the perch. In Germany they are called Die Fernsehtaube, 'the television dove' because they like sitting on TV aerials. They circle once or twice and then glide back to their perch uttering the nasal call that can get so irritating when repeated from dawn to dusk out outside your house. Collared doves are resident all year round, apparently not migrating significantly. This is surprising in some ways since they only recently arrived in their north-westerly spread and one might think that indicated strong migratory tendencies. Like woodpigeons, collared doves breed through much the year.
How are they doing?
As noted above, the collared dove is a relative newcomer to NW Europe, arriving en masse in the 1950’s as part of a great dispersal from SE Europe and Asia Minor. They increased in numbers very rapidly during the 1960’s but in recent years they have declined in some areas. In Britain and Ireland they tend to be less abundant to the north and east and in higher ground. They are the tenth most commonly reported garden bird, with a summer population of 810,000 pairs. They are much more commonly seen in villages and towns than in woodland or farmland and even seem less common in the countryside than in suburbs, probably because buildings are further apart.
Finding out more:
Page written by Roy Smith, compiled by Steve Head