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The Laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a bird found in South Africa, India, Israel, Australia and United Arab Emirates. Dry bushland, towns and gardens in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. It eats seeds and nuts, insects and other small invertebrates and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Laughing dove lives

Dry bushland, towns and gardens in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🌰 Seeds & nuts70%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs10%
• 🍎 Fruit10%
• 🌸 Nectar10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Laughing dove

Recorded by African Bioacoustics Community (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1173546. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Laughing dove

Where does the Laughing dove live?

The Laughing dove lives in South Africa, India, Israel, Australia and United Arab Emirates. Dry bushland, towns and gardens in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

What does the Laughing dove eat?

seeds and nuts (about 70%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%), fruit (about 10%), nectar (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Laughing dove endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Asia

• Streak-breasted bulbul
• Far Eastern curlew
• Malayan peacock-pheasant
• White-shouldered ibis
• Mascarene petrel
• Beck's petrel

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.