Ring-necked dove

Streptopelia capicola

The Ring-necked dove (Streptopelia capicola) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania. Dry woods and gardens across eastern and southern Africa. It eats seeds and nuts, insects and other small invertebrates and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Streptopelia capicola
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania

🏡 Where the Ring-necked dove lives

Dry woods and gardens across eastern and southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts40%
🐛 Insects & bugs20%
🌿 Leaves & plants20%
🍎 Fruit10%
🌸 Nectar10%

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.

💡 Its soft call sounds like it is saying "how's father?"

Hear the Ring-necked dove

Recorded by African Bioacoustics Community (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1149947. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Ring-necked dove

Where does the Ring-necked dove live?

The Ring-necked dove lives in South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania. Dry woods and gardens across eastern and southern Africa.

What does the Ring-necked dove eat?

seeds and nuts (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%), fruit (about 10%), nectar (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Ring-necked 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.