The collared dove is a small pigeon found on farmland and in woodland, parks and gardens across the country. Since breeding in the UK was first recorded in the 1950s, numbers have increased and the collared dove is now one of our commonest garden birds. Collared doves feed on seeds and grain on the ground and are usually seen singularly or in pairs, although small flocks may form where there is enough food.
How to identify
The collared dove is buff-coloured with darker grey wingtips, a black half-collar, and paler patches at the shoulders and at the end of the tail. Less colourful than the turtle dove, it also sounds different: it makes a familiar 'hoo hoooo-hoo' sound, while the turtle dove has a purring 'turrr turrr turr' song.
Did you know?
The collared dove is one of the great colonisers of the bird world, having spread west from Asia, it first bred here in the 1950s and has even reached America.
