African Collared-Dove
Description
The African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea) is a small dove found in the Sahel, northern parts of the Horn of Africa and southwestern Arabia. Although it lives in arid lands, it is found around water sources.
Distribution & Habitat
The African Collared-Dove is a nonnative naturalized species in
Puerto Rico, originally from sub-
Saharan Africa and the Arabian
Peninsula (Oberle 2018), whose
presence has been confirmed
in multiple records from the
municipality of Cabo Rojo
(Garrido and others 2007). In the
past, this species was confused
with the Eurasian Collared-Dove
(S. decaocto), another nonnative
species that looks very similar
to the African Collared-Dove,
but the former is larger and
darker. In Oberle (2000), African
Collared-Dove is included as S.firisoria; however, taxonomists
do not consider S. risoria as a
separate species but rather the
domesticated form (Oberle 2018).
This species is mostly associated
with cities and urban areas near
houses (Oberle 2018). The atlas
fieldwork yielded a total of 48
records within 32 hexagons or 7
percent of the 479 total hexagons
(see map). Of the 32 hexagons
where this species was found,
breeding met the atlas definition
of confirmed in 9 percent (3) of
the hexagons, probable in 31
percent (10), and possible in 59
percent (19) (see map). African Collared-Dove distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones
in Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding. 51African Collared-Dove/Paloma Collarina Africana
Breeding Habits
Published information about breeding seasonality is lacking
for the African Collared-Dove in
Puerto Rico. Atlas results show
that the African Collared-Dove
breeding season extends from
January to July, with a peak in
May (see chart). Results show
that the African Collared-Dove
is confined to the south and
southwestern coastal lowlands
within the subtropical dry (69 percent of the hexagons) and
subtropical moist forest life zones
(31 percent of the hexagons) of
Puerto Rico (see table and map).
Conservation
The African Collared-Dove global population size has not been
quantified or assessed, but the
species is described as common
to locally abundant, and it
is listed as a species of least
concern by the IUCN (BirdLife International 2018). Locally, this
species is not listed in any of the
threatened categories of PRDNER
and USFWS. In Puerto Rico, this
species has a protected habitat
in land of 5 percent or 39 km2 of the total area covered by the
hexagons where evidence of
breeding was found (767 km2).
Related Species
Family:
dove