coo, coo, coo. the middle one is the loud one.
Collared dove says
Bird 26 of 30 · video, 42:19
Collared dove
Streptopelia decaocto
A warm-grey newcomer with a narrow black half collar, who colonised Britain in the 1950s and now breeds almost all year.
- Large, 204.8 g
- Not stated
- Hedge or shrub
- On a feeder or bird table
About the collared dove
Marks and dots
Tap a numbered dot, or a name in the list.
The narrow black half collar on the neck is the main point of identification.
In flight the tail looks square-ended, black at the base and white beyond.
From egg to adult
-
Egg
Eggs2 eggs BTO
Hatch after16–17 days≠BTOthe video says about 14 days
-
Chick in the nest
In the nest for18 days video, BTO agrees
-
Young bird
The young fly about 18 days after hatching.
Adult
Warm grey; narrow black half collar
Broods a year1–2 broods≠BTOthe video says up to 5 broods
BTO averages: 16 days incubating the eggs, then 18 days in the nest. Averages across nest records, so the figures above can differ a little.
At the table
- not said in the video
The video does not say what collared doves eat, only that they are charming visitors to a garden bird table.
This page mentions bird tables. Since April 2026 the RSPB and the BTO advise against them, and say to feed seeds and peanuts only from November to April. What changed, and why.
Through the year
Collared dove: breeds almost any time, February to November, Feb to Nov.
What to know about the collared dove
Eight short notes in our own words. Each chip says what the note stands on, and links to its row in the table below.
What to look for
About the size of a small pigeon, in warm grey. The main clue is the narrow black half collar on the neck. In flight the tail looks square-ended, black at the base and white beyond, where a turtle dove's is more rounded.
Male and female
The video does not say whether male and female collared doves look different.
not in the video
Song and call
A distinctive repetition of three coos, with the emphasis always on the middle one.
Nest
Flimsy nests of twigs, grass and roots, in conifer or evergreen hedges. Both parents sit on the eggs.
Feeding
The video does not say what collared doves eat, only that they are charming visitors to a garden bird table.
not in the video
Staying or leaving
A relative newcomer. After a spectacular spread across Europe in the 1930s, the first pair reached Britain in 1955. The spread has slowed, and the birds are now well distributed across the country, usually near people: towns, gardens, parks and farmland.
In the garden
Appealing birds to watch flitting in to the garden bird table. BTO says given good weather they may nest in any month, always with two eggs. Pairs may breed almost any time between February and November, with as many as five broods.
Sources and checks
Where every fact about the collared dove came from
14 claims about the collared dove: 2 checked, 7 from the video only,3 differ, 2 from a source only. How the grades work
| Claim, in our words | Video time | Grade | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| The collared dove is the size of a small pigeon, warm grey, with a narrow black half collar on the neck as the major point of identification. | 42:54 | video only | |
| In flight the tail looks square-ended, black at the base with the rest white, where a turtle dove's is more rounded. | 43:04 | video only | |
| The song is a distinctive repetition of three coos, with the emphasis always on the second. | 43:15 | video only | |
| Nests are flimsy, built of twigs, grass and roots, in conifer or evergreen hedges. | 43:23 | video only | |
| There can be up to five broods.video: up to 5 broods | 43:29 | ≠differs | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 1–2 broods (BTO typical)BTO lists 1–2 as typical and prints no higher figure, not 5 |
| Pairs can breed almost any time between February and November.video: almost any time between February and November | 43:32 | ≠differs | BTO, read 2026-10-05: given favourable weather, may nest in any month of the yearBTO's introduction to the species. |
| Both parents incubate the eggs, which takes about 14 days.video: about 14 days | 43:35 | ≠differs | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 16–17 days (BTO typical)outside BTO's typical range of 16–17, though inside the 14–18.5 BTO has observed |
| The young doves fly 18 days later.video: 18 days | 43:40 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 17–19 days (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 17–19 |
| Collared doves are a relatively new addition to the British landscape. | 42:26 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO says it only began colonising Britain in the 1950s. |
| After a spectacular spread across Europe in the 1930s, the first pair reached Britain in 1955. | 42:30 | video only | |
| The rate of expansion has slowed; they are well distributed nationwide, usually near people, in towns, gardens, parks and farmland. | 42:40 | video only | |
| There is something very appealing about collared doves flitting in to feed at a garden bird table. | 42:19 | video only | |
| Adult weight, from ringing records: 204.8 g, adult average. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 204.8 g, adult average |
| Typical clutch: 2 eggs (BTO typical). | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 2 eggs (BTO typical) |
Written in our own words after “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, where the collared dove starts at 42:19.Numbers are checked against the BTO's page for the collared dove, read on 5 October 2026. We are not connected to the channel or to the BTO.
More birbs: 30 so far, and more to come
The coins down the right of the screen are all 30. Tap one to go to that bird.