Cape Ring Dove
Streptopelia capicola

AKA: Cape Turtle Dove, Ring-necked Dove, Damara Dove, Dark-eyed Ringdove

Iziko Museum - Cape Town, Africa
Streptopelia capicola capicola - nominate race

©justbirds
Streptopelia capicola tropica

© P&H Harris
Streptopelia capicola somalica

Distribution: Is found in the open savannas, grasslands & all types of dry woodlands in East Africa from Sudan & Ethiopia southwards through Kenya & Tanzania; across all of southern Africa with the exception of the coastal deserts of Namibia & the karoo in S. Africa.

Races: six races accepted: 
S. c. capicola (Sundevall 1857) - southern Africa in Transvaal, Natal & Cape Province
S. c. tropica (Reichenow 1902) - central Kenya south & west to Angola
S. c. damarensis (Hartlaub & Finsch 1870) - central & western South Africa
S. c. onguati (MacDonald 1957) - nothern Namibia & southwest Angola
S. c. somalica (Erlanger 1905) - eastern Ethiopia, Somalia & northern Kenya
S. c. electa (Madarasz 1913) - western Ethiopia

Description: Length 25 cm. Forehead & face light bluish grey; crown darker bluish grey. Nape & sides & front of neck mauve pink suffused with grey, being more profound on chest & underparts. Throat & chin whitish. Narrow black half collar on hindneck. Has a narrow black stripe from bill base to the eye. Vent area & undertail coverts white. Mantle, scapulars, back dark drab brown shading to bluish grey on wing shields, rump & tail coverts. Primaries, primary coverts & outer secondaries dull blackish with dull fringes. Underwings dark bluish grey. Eyes dark brown; pale yellow or bluish grey eye cere; bill black; legs & feet reddish purple. Female: somewhat duller, more brownish on rump. Juvenile: a grey-brown coloration with buff fawn feather edges; black collar only patches on sides of neck.    

Voice: Call #1   Call #2(M. Kramer)

Nesting: Clutch 2 white eggs; Incubation is 14 days; fledging in 16 to 18 days. 

NOTES: This species is seen or heard in many African nature series.

Comparison

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