Collared doves arrived in the UK about 40 years ago and are now a resident bird common anywhere near settlements. You can see them all year round, foraging in gardens or perching on power lines and TV aerials. They are not wary of humans although we either love them - some people even keep them as pets - or they are detested and treated as pests.

Length: 29-30cm

Wingspan: 35cm

Conservation Status: Green

Description: These doves are slim with a long tail, and their plumage is predominantly pale brown with a pinkish flush on the breast and they have a distinctive black neck collar. They have short red legs and a black bill. Both sexes look alike, but the male has a monotonous cooing ‘song’. Juvenile collared doves have dark brown plumage.

Nesting: Collared doves can be found in settlements of all types – farms, gardens, zoos and parks, often nesting near humans. They tend to avoid forested areas where their light colour means that they would stand out, making them more susceptible to hawks and other predators. They usually build their nests in the fork of a tree or bush but have been recorded nesting in more unusual places including a window box full of flowers! Their ‘nests’ are made from twigs, stems, roots and grasses but are often just an insubstantial platform of twigs! Some nests are so flimsy that the eggs and chicks can fatally fall through the gaps and plunge to the ground. Collared doves produce between 2 and 4 broods a year from mid February to early October. Each brood consists of 2 white, slightly glossy eggs which are incubated by both sexes for 14-18 days.

Feeding: Collared doves eat seeds, buds, grain, fruits, berries and bread. Unlike many species of bird their chicks are fed on crop milk. They are common garden visitors, especially in winter when food is scarce and can be seen foraging on the ground. They are very territorial and aggressive and are known to scare smaller birds away from feeding stations, which is why they can become unpopular with humans who want to see all the birds getting their share! This territorial streak is thought to be linked to their high reproductive output.

Ultiva Softbill Mix	Naked Rolled Oats	Ultiva Suet Pellets	Did you know?
			Collared doves perform display flights early in the spring, and are often kept as a pet. In some areas of America the spread of the bird in the wild is not traced back to natural breeding, but to escaped or released cage birds!

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