Birds and wildlife

Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaoctoGroup: Pigeons and dovesUK Conservation status:Green

How to identify

Collared Doves are a pale, pinky-brown-grey colour, with a distinctive black neck collar (as the name suggests). They have deep red eyes and reddish feet. Their cooing, which can sometimes seem to go on forever, will be a familiar sound to many of you. Although you'll often see them on their own or in pairs, flocks may form where there is a lot of food available.

Call

Collared Dove

David Farrow / xeno-canto

Originally from Asia, these birds are adaptable and have established in much cooler countries. It’s uncertain why they’ve had such success, but with between three and six broods per year, their expansion has been able to happen very quickly indeed. There are now over 800,000 pairs breeding in the UK.

Key features to look out for:

  • Smaller than Woodpigeon 
  • Beige-grey body 
  • Darker grey on outer wing and tail feathers 
  • Black collar, with white edging, on neck  
Collard Dove pair perched together on a branch
Collard Dove pair
The differences between pigeons and doves: an ID guide

Discover the five UK species and how they’ve been bred to live alongside people.

Where to see them?

Most of the UK and Ireland – although absent from north and west Scotland and north and West Ireland. The favour woodland, park land and farmland.

Key

  1. Resident
  2. Passage
  3. Summer
  4. Winter
* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Collared Dove perched on a metal railing
Collared Dove
Did you know?

Collared Doves are a common sight in both urban areas and our gardens, parks and woodlands. But they only arrived in the UK in 1955? 

Key facts