Common Name |
Ringneck Dove |
Latin Name |
Streptopelia capicola |
Average Lifespan |
15 Years |
Average Length |
11 Inches |
Average Weight |
150 - 200 Grams |
Song Type |
Soft Coo's |
Noise Level & Talking Ability
Both males and females call, but the female's calls are usually softer with a more trill or rolling "rr" uttered in the calls. The advertising call is uttered as "koo, krroo" or "koo, kooroo-wa." There is also a nest call and display coo which are similar to each other. The excitement call is described as a high-pitched jeering laugh. This call is uttered as the male greets the female or another Ringneck. He may also utter the display coo before his bowing display.
Physical Features
No Mutation: brown color with darker colored flights. In males, the head, neck, and breast are a purplish color. In females, this is not as noticeable.
Fawn aka Blonde: lighter than wild, showing a tan coloring with only slightly darker flights. Head, neck, and breast are very light beige in both sexes. The purple coloring in wild males is lost with Blond males.
Pied: Pied birds are white with patches of colored feathers or vice versa. The colored feathers are solid colored and the white feathers are solid white. The pattern and ratio of colored feathers to white feathers varies greatly.
White: all white feathers
Pet Profile
The ring-necked dove is the most commonly kept companion bird of the dove family, and can be found easily due to their prolific breeding. In fact, you might have a hard time keeping them from breeding. Because they are so hardy, they make a good choice for someone who doesn’t have the time to devote to a more attention-demanding bird.
Doves are gentle birds, and will not bite or attack the way some parrot species will. Ring-necked doves can be easily hand-tamed, though most owners do not interact with them in this way.
The ring-necked dove is great for someone who wants a bird but has fussy neighbors who won’t accept a parrot screeching all day. Ring-necked doves sound similar to pigeons in their cooing, and though they are not loud, they can be persistent. Some people find the noise soothing, while others will be annoyed at their cooing diligence — they rarely cease.
Ringneck Doves are very clean birds and love to bathe. They will enjoy either a bath in a large bowl of water or a shower, a misting with a light spray of clean water.
Diet
A commercial dove and pigeon mix or a regular parakeet seed mix supplemented with greens rich in minerals, vitamins, and calcium is a fine diet. Ringneck Doves love treats. They not only enjoy their greens but will also enjoy spray millet and such things as crumbled cornmeal and bread. Grit is essential as Ringneck Doves swallow their food whole, and it helps grind up the food. Oyster shells or even cuttlebone can be added for calcium and is important for egg layers.
Housing
Suitable housing for a Ringneck Dove would be a large cockatiel cage along with some time outside the cage. Cages that are longer and wider are more important than tall cages, as these birds flutter around and do not climb. Males tend to be quarrelsome with other males so keep pairs housed alone. They are quite hardy. If they are kept outdoors and are accustomed to cold weather, they can take below-freezing temperatures for a short period of time.
Breeding Information
Age of Maturity |
1 Year |
Breeding Aviculture |
Very Common |
Average Clutch Size |
2 Eggs |
Nest Box |
Large, Open Cup |
Breeding Life |
12 Years |
Wild Status
Ringneck Doves are fully domesticated.