Red-eyed Dove

Streptopelia semitorquata

Africa's largest collared dove, with a burning red eye ring. Its call repeats all day: I am a red-eyed dove.

Population: Global population size unquantified; described as common to abundant across most of its range, with a suspected slight decline (population trend: decreasing; suspected 1-19% decrease over three generations)
Habitat: Woodland, savanna, riverine forest, forest edge, and alien tree plantations (pine, eucalyptus, rooikrans, Port Jackson willow); avoids arid desert and dense rainforest interior; adapts well to agricultural land and human-altered/urban landscapes; occurs from sea level up to ~2,530 m elevation
Fun fact: The Red-eyed Dove is the largest and stockiest of Africa's "ringneck" doves, identifiable by its dark red eye ringed with red skin and a black half-collar on the nape.
Range: Sub-Saharan Africa (Senegal and Sudan south to South Africa), plus parts of the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia) and Yemen; extent of occurrence ~26,000,000 km² across 45+ countries/territories
Diet: Primarily ground-foraging granivore: grass seeds, cultivated grains (sorghum, maize, millet), wild acacia and other wild seeds, plus flowers, nuts, and fallen fruit (e.g. mulberry, pigeonwood); occasionally invertebrates such as termite alates and millipedes
Size: 0.3 m
Wingspan: 0.6 m
Lifespan: 6 years

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