Description: Largest of the African Turtle doves (Streptoplia). The body is mostly brown with lots of pinish-gray shading. The throat is nearly white with the face and forehead a pale grayish-blue. The crown is a darker slate gray with a thin black stripe that extends from the eye to the bill on both sides. Beneath the tail the dove is nearly white again the nape and frontal part of the neck is a pinkish-mauve-gray. The ring or half collar on the back of the neck is thick and jet black. The wings and wing flights are a dark Payne's gray. The bill is black. Legs and feet are reddish-purple. In some individuals the feet and legs can be dark purple and even gray, especially in immature birds.

The eyes of both sexes are incredibly expressive. The eyes are a liquidy raw umber brown with the orbital skin surrounding the eyes yellow or gold.

The female of this species is very similar. She is a tiny bit smaller and has less of the pinkish sheen.

Thanks to Tony Brancato for his help with this page.

Other Names:

The Half-Collar dove inhabits a large area of the African continent. This dove ranges from southern Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa in the south. This specie is commonly found in dry, open country. It is also found in savannas, areas of trees and brush but never in dense forests of tropical rain forests .The Half-Collar dove ranges and overlaps many other related turtle dove areas. It is not uncommon to see flocks of Half-Collar doves feeding with several smaller related turtle dove species.

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