Feral pigeons are native to areas around the Mediterranean, including North Africa.
The turtle dove is a member of the same family as pigeons, but it has a longer neck and a more elegant appearance than its unwanted cousins. In the wild, turtle doves are native to areas around the Mediterranean, including North Africa, southern Europe, and the western part of Asia. Like many birds, the turtledove winters in more southern climes, heading to Africa in the fall.
This slender bird has a bluish-gray head, which is smaller than the heads of other members of the pigeon family. Males have a patch of blue-tipped black nape feathers, and their bodies are reddish-brown, with white-tipped gray tail feathers. Female turtledoves and hatchlings of both sexes have similar colors and patterns, but lack the sheen of adult male plumage.
Like other pigeons and turtle doves, turtle doves have a straight bill that they use to suck up water, unlike other birds that tend to slurp and tilt their heads back to drink. They are foragers and find most of the fruits and seeds that make up their diet on the ground. These warm-weather residents feed during the morning and evening hours, and roost in the hot midday hours.
Turtle doves are monogamous, and after gaining another person’s affection through a cooing, dancing courtship that can last for days, they stay together for the rest of their lives. Males choose nest sites, usually in hedgerows or sheltered wooded areas. Females build nests before laying two bluish-white eggs. The pair then take turns laying the eggs and caring for the chicks until they are able to leave the nest.
A variety called the ringed turtle dove has long been domesticated for captivity. Generally paler than its wild cousins, the Ringed Dove is normally an extremely pale brown, with a darker, mottled back. The name comes from a ring of black feathers on the nape.
The Ringed Dove is easy to tame and most do not have an innate fear of larger animals. They share many of the same characteristics as the wild turtle dove, including their unique method of drinking and their habits of freezing in place rather than running when seen by predatory birds such as hawks. Also known as the Barbary pigeon and ringed pigeon, this captive variety of turtledove also feeds on seeds on the ground. They can easily escape into the wild, but are usually not hardy enough to survive on their own for long.