red collared dove

The red turtle dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica) is a small dove, measuring 20 to 25 cm in length and weighing 100 to 105 grams. These birds have sexually dimorphic plumage. In the male red turtle dove, the head, forehead, nape and ear-coverts are pale bluish gray. There is a broad black collar around the hind neck which is broken at the front. The chin is whitish gray and the throat is pale pink. The mantle and wing-coverts are vinous red. The primary coverts and flight feathers are blackish brown. The back and the uppertail coverts are dark bluish gray. The breast and belly are red wine colored. The undertail is white and the underwing is pale gray. The female red turtle dove has earth-brown upperparts and pale gray forehead. The back and rump are gray. The flight feathers are dark brown. The chin and throat region is pale grayish buff. The breast and belly region is grayish brown. The juveniles look like females but lack the black collar. In both the sexes, the irises are brownish black. The orbital skin is grayish. The bill is black with grayish base. The feet are dark red.

These red turtle dove species have moderate forest dependence. These species occur in altitudes from 0 to 1300 meters. Unlike other dove species, these birds have not colonized urban and suburban areas.
The natural ecosystems of these species include tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, dry woodlands, tropical and subtropical dry forests, scrub jungles, tropical and subtropical dry shrublands, open country with trees and dry savanna.

The diet of these red turtle dove species is mostly seeds. Wild seeds, buds, tender leaves, grains and cereals are their primary food. They seem to feed exclusively on the ground in open country.
They glean grains and cereals from crops in agricultural fields. They feed mainly in the morning and evening, resting during the hotter part of the day.

A harsh, rolling, repeated groo-gurr-goo.

The red turtle dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica) also known as the red collared dove is a small pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in the tropics of Asia. The male has a bluish head and light red-brown body with a black ring round its neck while the female is similar but is pinkish all over. This dove is essentially a plains species extending to Taiwan and the Philippines but uncommon on the Malaysian archipelago avoiding rocky foothill and an oriental species. There is however a summer migration into the broader cultivated valleys of Afghania where it breeds. It is the most common dove throughout Punjab. It is a summer migrant visitor to India where it is more or less resident. They prefer better-wooded tracts such as canal or roadside tree plantations and avoid extensive desert regions. When they first arrive they are often in small flocks but they soon split up and start pair formation and breeding. The red turtle dove species are partially migratory birds. Summer breeding populations of these dove species are found in west Punjab (India) and Pakistan. These populations migrate southwards for wintering. The populations of these dove species in rest of the range are resident birds. Post breeding the juveniles may disperse and establish in new locations within the range. They may make local movements for feeding and breeding within their range.