African Morning Dove ( Streptopelia decipiens, family: columbidae)

african mourning dove kruger national park birds The African Morning Dove (Latin name Streptopelia decipiens) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 353 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 283 also a picture of the African Morning Dove on page 273. The African Morning Dove belongs to the family of birds classified as columbidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the African Morning Dove is also known by these other names: Morning Dove, Angola Dove, Deceptive Ring Dove.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The African Morning Dove is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the African Morning Dove in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. African Morning Dove : see above distribution map.

The African Morning Dove.

African Mourning Dove Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The African Morning Dove is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the African Morning Dove is about 30 cms and its weight is about 160 gms

The male and female African Morning Dove have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is grey.
  • Eye is yellow.
  • Bill is brown.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are purple.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The African Morning Dove feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The African Morning Dove is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Streptopelia decipiens will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of African Morning Dove is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 2

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for African Morning Dove are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will normally see the African Morning Dove in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Rooioogtortelduif

German ... Angolaturteltaube, Angolalachtaube, Brillentaube

Portuguese ... Rola-gemedora

French ... Tourterelle pleureuse

Dutch ... Treurtortel

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 353

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za