Streptopelia

Streptopelia
The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a typical and widespread member of the collared doves
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Columbiformes
Family:	Columbidae
Subfamily:	Columbinae
Genus:	Streptopelia Bonaparte, 1855
Type species
Columba turtur Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text

Streptopelia is a genus of birds in the pigeon and dove family Columbidae. These are mainly slim, small to medium-sized species. The upperparts tend to be pale brown and the underparts are often a shade of pink. Many have a characteristic black-and-white patch on the neck and monotonous cooing songs.

The heartland of this genus is Africa, but several species occur in tropical South Asia. As a group, this genus is highly successful; many species are abundant in a range of habitats in the tropics and two now have a much more extensive distribution. The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) naturally expanded out of its original range of the warmer temperate regions from southeastern Europe to Japan to colonise the rest of Europe, reaching as far west as Great Britain by 1960 and Ireland soon after. It has also been introduced into the U.S. and, as of 1999, it had been reported from 22 states and was still spreading rapidly.