Streptopelia decipiens
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The mourning collared dove or African mourning dove (Streptopelia decipiens) is a dove which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. This species is common or abundant near water. It often mingles peacefully with other doves. Despite its name, it is not closely related to the North American mourning dove (Zenaida macroura).
The mourning collared dove is a medium-sized, stocky pigeon, 28–30 cm in length. It has a pale grey head and pinkish-grey body, with a broad black half-collar finely edged in white on the back and sides of the neck. The wings are broad and pointed, pale brown with darker brown flight feathers. The legs, and a patch of bare skin around the eye, are red, and the iris is pale yellow to brownish. When flying, it shows dark flight feathers and extensive white in the tail, the latter being a distinction from the similar but slightly larger red-eyed dove; this also differs in having a red iris.
The sexes are similar, but immatures are duller than adults, and have scalloping on the body feathers. Six subspecies are accepted: Streptopelia decipiens shelleyi (Salvadori, AT, 1893) — Mauritania and Senegambia to... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maiduguri | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 2 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 3 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 4 | N'Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad | |
| 5 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 6 | Abuja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 7 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 8 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Mourning Dove sighting in Addis Ababa on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 89th most-seen of the 109 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Mourning Dove in Addis Ababa on a given day, against under 5% in April–October and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Addis Ababa's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 250 mm in August.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Mourning Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate African Mourning Dove sightings, Addis Ababa ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Maiduguri (Nigeria, about 70%), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 60%) and Serrekunda (Gambia, about 50%).
Same genus: Streptopelia
The closest relatives of the African Mourning Dove that you can see in Addis Ababa (genus Streptopelia, Turtle-Doves and Collared-Doves) are Dusky Turtle Dove (about 70%) and Red-eyed Dove (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Mourning Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Addis Ababa (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
