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Song & Call Comparison
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Song & Call Comparison
Brown-backed Dove
Song
Soft, gentle cooing with brown-backed quality; warm notes typical of South American tropical forest floor.
African Collared-dove
Song
Soft, gentle cooing; pure warm notes through dense forest in Timor region. Vocalization pattern typical of this species in its native habitat.
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Geographic Range & Migration
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Conservation Status Comparison
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Conservation Status
Vulnerable
Brown-backed Dove
Least Concern
African Collared-dove
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Identification Tips — How to Tell Them Apart
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How to Tell Them Apart
Brown-backed Dove
Plumage
Brown-backed Dove: brown back contrasting pale head; pale buff below; bare red orbital skin; Coiba island endemic; brown back
African Collared-dove
Plumage
Ruddy Cuckoo-dove: rich rufous-brown above; plain buff below; long red-brown tail; red orbital ring; Southeast Asian species
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About Each Bird (Descriptions)
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Medium dove, 25–28 cm, brown above with a rufous-brown back, grey head, and pale underparts. Confined to Coiba Island and adjacent small islands off western Panama. Inhabits lowland forest. Terrestrial frugivore and granivore. Near Threatened due to the restricted island range.
Small dove, 26–29 cm, pale pinkish-grey with a black hindneck collar and white tail corners. Native to arid zones of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Somalia and south to Tanzania. The ancestor of the domesticated Barbary Dove (ring-necked dove). Granivore of grass seeds and small grains in dry savanna, farmland, and desert edge. Least Concern.
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Related Comparisons
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More Birds in Family
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