Namaqua Dove

Oena capensis

Africa's tiniest dove, with a tail longer than its body. The male's jet-black face and orange bill make it unmistakable.

Population: Global population not numerically quantified by IUCN/BirdLife; described as common to abundant across its range, with population trend suspected increasing (range expansion into Israel/Arabia since the mid-1970s, and more recently into Pakistan/NW India)
Habitat: Open, dry country: savanna, grassland, shrubland, semi-desert edges with acacia and scattered bushes, arable land, and rural gardens; forages on bare ground and roadsides; avoids true forest; recorded from sea level up to ~3,250 m
Fun fact: The Namaqua Dove is the sole living species in its genus (Oena) — monotypic with two subspecies (nominate O. c. capensis and Madagascar's O. c. aliena) — and the male's long black tapered tail combined with a yellow-and-red bill and black face/throat mask give it a distinctive, almost budgerigar-like silhouette among doves.
Range: Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and the southern Arabian Peninsula/Middle East (including southern Israel and Jordan), with a range expanding into South Asia (Pakistan, northwest India); Extent of Occurrence estimated at ~40.8 million km² across 60+ countries/territories
Diet: Almost exclusively small seeds (grasses, sedges, and weeds), gleaned from bare ground and roadsides
Size: 0.22 m
Wingspan: 0.305 m

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