Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae Status: Breeding in Madeira
Fairly large dove with a rather long tail.
Collared Dove has a uniform greyish-brown overall colouration with a subtle pink head and chest and a thin black collar at the back of the neck. Its legs are red. When flying it shows dark wing tips, grey on the upper-wings and a darker, fanned tail with a whitish band at the tip.
It is a very common bird through Europe where it relies mostly on bird feeders. Its flight is quick, direct and often long.
In Madeira and Porto Santo islands, it occurs near villages with not many trees and some barren habitat surrounding it (Caniçal and Porto Santo villages), though it is spreading to the surrounding areas over the years but it is still not common in Funchal.
Unlikely to be mistaken but it might resemble European Turtle Dove though Collared Dove is bigger in size, has a longer tail and its upper-parts colouration are not so vivid as the first one.
Wingspan: 47 - 55 cm (Beaman & Madge, 2011)
Total length: 31 - 33 cm (Beaman & Madge, 2011)
Weight: 150 - 220 g (Hume, 2002)
Seasonality in Madeira: All year
Breeding: It builds small platforms of twigs and rubbish as nests and it lays 2 eggs in 2 to 3 broods a year or sometimes more.
Diet: Picks up grain, seeds and shoots from ground and often goes for bird feeders.
Madeira local status by Correia-Fagundes et al, 2021: Common breeding bird
Madeira local status by Romano et al, 2010: Rare breeding bird
Madeira local status by Zino et al, 1995: Vagrant bird with only 1 record
Conservation status by the IUCN Red List Categories, 2013:
Portuguese: Rola-turca
German: Türkentaube
Dutch: Turkse Tortel
Swedish: Turkduva
Danish: Tyrkerdue
Finish: Turkinkyyhky
Norwegian: Tyrkerdue
Spanish: Tórtola Turca
French: Tourterelle turque
Italian: Tortora dal collare orientale
Polish: Sierpówka
Slovak: Hrdlička záhradná
Czech: Hrdlička zahradní
Join Madeira Wildlife Monthly Newsletter. All the updates on your email every month.