What do Eurasian Collared Doves eat? A rundown of their main diet

The Eurasian Collared Dove is a "three-valuable" protected animal, medium-sized, a bird of the genus Streptopelia in the family Columbidae. It is widely distributed but has sparse populations. In China it is found in North China and the Northwest, with records also in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and South China; abroad it is found in southeastern Europe, Central Asia, India, Myanmar and Japan, among other places. Let us take a look below at what the Eurasian Collared Dove eats!

What do Eurasian Collared Doves eat?

The Eurasian Collared Dove inhabits woodlands in plains, foothills and low hilly areas, and also often appears near farmland, orchards, scrub, towns and villages. It mostly moves in small flocks or mixed flocks with other doves, feeding mainly on the fruits and seeds of various plants, and also eating grass seeds, crop grains and insects.

Is the Eurasian Collared Dove a protected animal?

The Eurasian Collared Dove is a protected animal. It is listed in the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under State Protection that are Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Research Value," issued by China's State Forestry Administration on August 1, 2000, and is also listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species 2012 ver3.1——Least Concern (LC).

Living habits of the Eurasian Collared Dove

1. Nesting: Adult Eurasian Collared Doves build their nests in trees, usually nesting in small trees or scrub, and also nesting in house yards and garden fruit trees. The nest is very simple, mainly made of a pile of fine dead twigs, mostly more than 3 m above the ground, with an outer diameter of 14-20 cm and an inner diameter of 8-13 cm.

2. Social living: The Eurasian Collared Dove is a social species, forming fairly large flocks where food such as grains is abundant. Its call is "coo-coo-coo," with the second note heavier and repeated many times. Because its call sounds like the Greek word decaocto (eighteen), it got this scientific name.

3. Breeding: The breeding period of the Eurasian Collared Dove is from April to August, perhaps raising 2 clutches a year, with 2 eggs per clutch. The eggs are milky white and oval in shape. The female bird mainly incubates the eggs, while the male mostly rests and keeps watch near the nest. The incubation period is 14-16 days, and the chicks are altricial. After hatching they are fed by both parent birds together, and after about 15-17 days of feeding, the young birds can fly and leave the nest.