By Mariano Gómez · Updated on 8 October 2026

Birds

Eurasian Collared Dove, the slender dove that conquered Europe in a century

Streptopelia decaoctoHear its song0:14

Photo gallery of the Eurasian Collared Dove

Identification of the Eurasian Collared Dove

It is a medium-sized bird, similar to the European Turtle Dove, though slightly bigger. It is characterised by its pale buff tones and its long tail, with a white tip and black base. It has a thin black collar, which extends along the sides of the neck but is absent in juveniles. Both sexes are alike. It has a fast, light flight, with powerful wingbeats.

Adult

• Pale buff tones and long tail, with white tip and black base.
• Thin black collar along the sides of the neck.

Juvenile

• Without the black collar.

Habitat and distribution of the Eurasian Collared Dove

Naturally it is distributed across the Middle East and Asia, as far as China and Korea. But since 1930 it has spread spectacularly across the whole of Europe, from the Balkans and central Europe to the Scandinavian countries, the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. Two subspecies are recognised, of which «decaocto» is the one that occupies Europe.

In Spain it spread across the whole Peninsula in the period 1974–1990, advancing from north to south. In the 1990s it also colonised the Balearics and the Canaries. It is now distributed throughout the Peninsula, the Balearics and the Canaries, with the best populations in the Cantabrian strip, the Ebro valley, the Levante and the two Mesetas. In the east and south of the peninsular interior the distribution is more scattered, depending on the presence of urban centres.

In its original range it behaves as a typical bird of open, semi-steppe areas with scattered shrubby formations, such as acacias. The populations established in Europe and in Spain occupy urban and suburban environments and their surroundings: gardens, groves, housing estates, crops… In our country it is a sedentary bird, although it makes dispersal movements of varying extent.

Etymology of the Eurasian Collared Dove

In other languages it is called «tórtora turca» in Catalan, «rula turca» in Galician, «usapal turkiarra» in Basque and «Eurasian collared dove» in English¹. Two subspecies are recognised; in Europe «decaocto» lives.

Population of the Eurasian Collared Dove

In the 2021 European Red List of Birds, the European breeding population is estimated at between 17,900,000 and 44,100,000 mature individuals, with an increasing trend. In Spain, the latest census, of 2014–2018, put it at more than 3,000,000 individuals, with a strong overall increase and the highest densities in the Ebro valley, the Levante and the western regions of the peninsula.

Despite this markedly positive trend, in urban localities of the Ebro valley it has been observed that the growth of the urban Magpie population (which can prey on clutches) and the recent colonisation of the same areas by the Wood Pigeon (which competes directly for resources) have slowed its growth. It suffers no threats and is clearly expanding.

Nest of the Eurasian Collared Dove

It nests in trees and shrubs, and occasionally on posts, where it builds a rigid platform of branches and leaves.

Courtship and breeding of the Eurasian Collared Dove

The breeding period runs from February to October, and it may lay several clutches a year. The clutch consists of one or two white eggs, incubated by both parents for 14–18 days. The chicks make their first flights at 15–20 days.

Diet of the Eurasian Collared Dove

It is a seed-eating species. It eats mainly cereal grains and herbaceous seeds and, to a lesser extent, green parts of plants and invertebrates.

Curious facts about the Eurasian Collared Dove

Since it reached the Peninsula, at the beginning of the 1970s, it occupied in barely three decades the whole peninsular territory, the Balearics and the Canaries, where it has become a common species in rural and urban environments. The ringed bird that lived longest, killed when it hit a structure in the Netherlands, reached 22 years and 2 months.

The Eurasian Collared Dove in Cabañeros

The habitat pages of this website do not mention it. GBIF.org records 320 observations of the species in Cabañeros and its surroundings.

Where to see the Eurasian Collared Dove in Cabañeros

In the inhabited settlements and groves around Cabañeros.

When

All year: it is sedentary, breeding from February to October.

What time

In good light, in gardens, groves and crops.

Where

In urban and suburban environments and their surroundings: gardens, groves, housing estates and crops.

What to look for

Look for a slender, pale buff dove with a long tail and the thin black collar; and listen for its high, penetrating «cu-cuu-cu».

Videos of the Eurasian Collared Dove

Similar species to the Eurasian Collared Dove

European Turtle Dove

Streptopelia turtur

How to tell them apart

It is similar in physical appearance¹. It is similar to the Collared Dove, although the latter is slightly bigger.

Photo: Ron Knight, CC BY 2.0

Stock Dove

Columba oenas

How to tell them apart

It is similar in song¹.

Photo: MPF, CC BY-SA 3.0

Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

How to tell them apart

It is similar in song¹.

Photo: Almaffi, public domain

Other birds

Bibliography

• Jiménez García-Herrera, José. (2017). Aves de Cabañeros y su entorno. Madrid, Spain: Ecohábitat.
• SEO Birdlife - Sociedad Española de Ornitología
• https://es.wikipedia.org/
• Hume, Rob. (2016). Guía de campo de las Aves de España y Europa. Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones Omega