Color: Light gray head; head and breast cinnamon  grey; black nape with white spots; dark cinnamon-gray back broadly streaked with black; buffy chest and belly; bill black; feet red. Pale brown wing coverts contrast with dark flight feathers. In flight, long blunt tail looks black with flashy white tips. Juveniles lack collar on hindneck. Breeding: monogamous nests all year, 1-2 white eggs Courting behavior of the male is a rhythmic bowing. To advertise his nesting site, a male performs a flight display of a steep climb accompanied by loud wing claps followed by a downward swoop in a circular dive with stiff wings and fanned tail.

Nesting: Nest is a flimsy stick platform of twigs, grasses and roots in a tree, tall bush, or on a building, often quite low. 11-15 cm in diameter and shallow, 2-3 cm deep.

Incubation: 14 days. Both parents brood young. Both tend to the young and provide a very rich substance called pigeon milk for the chick’s first six or seven days. The next week food for the chick is regurgitated seeds and grain.

Fledging: 14-16 days As soon as the young leave the nest, a new clutch is begun.

Voice:  low coo-croo-coo; soft te-croo-croo; three note coo-coo-croo with emphasis on last note.

Lifespan: 1-4 years in the wild; reported as up to 20. Hunting season in California diminishes population and lifespan.

Diet: seeds and grains. Forages on the ground.

Habits: solitary to paired, non-migratory but known to expand range as territories fill.

Habitat:  Suburban, parks, gardens, desert riparian, dense trees for nesting, areas with available grit.

Range: Occurs from Santa Barbara south to San Diego along the coast and inland in the central valley from Fresno south to Bakersfield. Uncommon but may be found in some California desert oases and riparian areas. Also introduced in Hawaii, northern Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand. Native to India through Southeast Asia.

Threats: preyed upon by man, accipiters, cats, and other carnivores.

Intentionally released in southern California, the Spotted Dove is associated with eucalyptus trees. Mostly a harmless addition to the southern California avifauna, it feeds on seeds and nests secretively. They are easily harmed by pesticides and herbicides. Doves are unique from other birds as they drink by sucking, so they don't have to tilt their heads back to swallow.

Article on Feral Birds by Paul Ehrlich

Kern Introduced Species: plant list with a short introduction to exotic species    Kern Naturalized Animal Checklist    

Bullfrog    Virginia Opossum    Fox Squirrel    ROCK PIGEON    Spotted Dove    Ringed Turtle Dove    Eurasian Collared Dove    Rose-ringed Parakeet    European Starling    House Sparrow    Hodgepodge of introduced Species

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Nature Ali Publications - keeping you informed about the past, present, and future of the natural environment in Kern County. The focus of Nature Ali Publications is the natural history of Kern County and surrounding regions in California. Thanks for visiting.

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