Spotted Dove: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Zinogre · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Spilopelia chinensis
- Family
- Pigeons and Doves
- Size
- About 30 cm
- Habitat
- Towns, gardens, farmland and open woodland
- Found in
- Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania
The key marks
Medium dove with a pinkish-brown body, a grey head and a wide black neck patch covered in white spots. Eurasian Collared-Dove is paler sandy-grey and has a thin black half-collar with no spots.
Voice
Soft, rolling cooing, like 'cu-cuu-crrr'.
Good to know
Native to southern Asia, it has been introduced to places such as Australia, Hawaii and California.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Eurasian Collared-Dove. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in towns, gardens, farmland and open woodland. It is especially common in China, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.