# African Collared-Dove

Scientific name: Streptopelia roseogrisea

Bird group: [dove](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/dove)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/60/African-Collared-Dove

## Identification

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 and 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

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).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_060_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_060_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.