Overview
The Namaqua dove is a tiny sparrow-sized pigeon. It has a very long black tapered tail, and the size and shape have led to comparison with the budgerigar. The plumage is mostly grey apart from a white belly, and chestnut primary feathers which are visible in flight. The adult male has a yellow and red beak and a black face, throat and breast. The adult female lacks the black and has a red-based grey bill. Young birds are dark blotched on the wings and shoulders, and otherwise resemble the females.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Oena
- Species
- capensis
Habitat
It is found in near desert with acacia and bushes.
Diet
The food is almost exclusively minute seeds, such as those of grasses, sedges and weeds.
Behavior
It is not gregarious, being encountered singly or in pairs, though they may form larger flocks at waterholes. The flight is fast with clipped beats and a tendency to stay low. It builds a stick nest in a bush, and lays two white eggs, which are incubated for 16 days in typical pigeon fashion; the female at night and early morning and the male from mid morning till late afternoon. The song is a quiet, short, double hoo, higher on the longer second note kuh-whooo, mournful and frequently repeated.
Hunting
More information is needed.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.