Columbidae
Spotted Dove
Spilopelia chinensis
The Collar of Small Moons
- Length
- 30 cm
- Wingspan
- 45 cm
- Family
- Columbidae
Identification
A slim, pink-grey dove with a long tail and a black hind-neck patch finely spotted with white — a collar of small moons. The back is brown, the legs wine-pink. In flight the tail shows broad white corners. An introduced bird, now so thoroughly of the suburb that the journal would be dishonest without it.
Distinctive marks
- Black-and-white spotted neck patch
- Pink-grey head and breast
- Brown back, long tail
- White corners to the tail in flight
- Soft, pacing walk
Behaviour & ecology
Ground feeders of seed and crumbs, usually in pairs. They bow, coo, and take off with a clap of the wing. Nests are flimsy platforms in a shrub or hanging fern; they will try again if the first falls down, which it often does.
Voice
A soft, three-note coo, melancholy and domestic — the sound of a warm afternoon behind a paling fence.
On the Peninsula
Every older Peninsula suburb, shopping-strip fig, and nature strip. Rare in true bush; abundant wherever people have swept seed.
Season
Year-round. Nesting runs through the warmer months.
Diet
Seeds, grain, and the small waste of human tables.
Conservation
Introduced and secure. They take a niche; they do not empty a thicket the way miners can.
Lore & resonance
The collar is a piece of night sky worn in daylight. An introduced bird can still be a neighbour. The journal's job is to notice, not to withhold the page.
If you would attract them
They need no invitation. A dish of water on the ground, in the open, is the only kindness that stays kind. Seed on a tray will only concentrate droppings.
