The vinaceous dove is a bird species in the pigeon family Columbidae that widely resident across northern Sub-Saharan Africa.
Region
Sahel and savanna belt of sub-Saharan Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs widely from West Africa east through the Sahel to Sudan and Ethiopia and south into parts of East and Central Africa. It favors open acacia savanna, thorn scrub, dry woodland, and edges of cultivation, and is common around villages and water sources. It avoids dense closed-canopy forest but uses scattered trees and bushy areas for roosting and nesting. Often seen along roadsides and in harvested fields where seeds are plentiful.
Altitude Range
0–2400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Named for its wine-colored (vinaceous) wash on the breast, this dove is a familiar resident across the Sahel and adjacent savannas. It readily uses villages and farmland, often gathering at waterholes in the heat of the day. Its accelerating series of rolling coos carries far and is a hallmark sound of dry African woodlands.
Temperament
alert yet tolerant of people
Flight Pattern
fast, direct flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small groups, forming larger flocks at water and abundant food sources. Nests are flimsy stick platforms placed in shrubs, small trees, or on building ledges. Breeding pairs are monogamous, and typical clutches are two white eggs. Displays include bowing and cooing from exposed perches.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A rolling series of coos that often accelerates, delivered in repeated phrases. The call is resonant and carries, commonly heard at dawn and late afternoon around settlements and wooded edges.
Plumage
Warm rufous-brown upperparts with a vinous-pink breast and pale gray head. Broad black hind-neck half-collar finely spotted or edged with white. Tail dark with conspicuous white corners; underparts pale gray to buff. Flight reveals contrasting pale outer tail feathers.
Diet
Primarily takes seeds of grasses and weeds, along with fallen grain from cultivated fields. Also consumes small fruits and occasionally green plant material. Forages mostly on the ground, walking and pecking methodically. Regularly visits water sources to drink, especially during hot, dry periods.
Preferred Environment
Open savanna, fallow fields, village fringes, and road verges where seeds are abundant. Often feeds in recently harvested fields and at the edges of thorn scrub or acacia stands.
