Namaqua dove

Oena capensis

The Namaqua dove (Oena capensis) is a bird found in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Israel, Madagascar and Botswana. Dry bushland across Africa. It eats seeds and nuts and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Oena capensis
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Israel, Madagascar and Botswana

🏡 Where the Namaqua dove lives

Dry bushland across Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts90%
🐛 Insects & bugs10%

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

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It's a tiny dove with a very long tail.

Hear the Namaqua dove

Recorded by Stanislas Wroza (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC951387. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Namaqua dove

Where does the Namaqua dove live?

The Namaqua dove lives in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Israel, Madagascar and Botswana. Dry bushland across Africa.

What does the Namaqua dove eat?

seeds and nuts (about 90%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Namaqua dove endangered?

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

More birds from Africa

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