Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (mainland), India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines (B), Singapore (B), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste (B) (NB), Vietnam.
Vagrant to Afghanistan, Maldives.
Introduced to Australia, Fiji, Mauritius, Mexico, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, USA (B), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (PE) (B).
Introduced to Australia. Well established in urban areas, along most of the east coast from Cairns, Qld to Melbourne, Vic, in Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and in the Perth area, WA. They are now also present in Alice Springs, NT.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Spotted Dove (Spilopelia) [XC783972]
by Greg Irving from Nam Kham Nature Reserve, Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai, Thailand (song)
Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis) [XC618871]
by Ray Tsu \u8bf8\u4ec1 from Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka (flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Usually October - January, but often in other periods.
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Nest
A slight, untidy, structure composed of sticks, twigs, pine needles, grass or straw, in a tree or shrub.
Eggs (Guide)
2; glossy, white; oval; about 29 x 23 mm. Incubation: 14 - 16 days; by both sexes.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 15 days.
Subspecies
Streptopelia senegalensis and Streptopelia chinensis (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) are placed in the genus Stigmatopelia following Cheke (2005).
Distinct from all other members of genus. Closest relative has been claimed to be Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis). Subspecies suratensis has been considered sufficiently distinct for potential recognition as a separate species. Many more subspecies have been described.
Subspecies chinensis and tigrina introduced to Australia. Subspecies tigrina introduced to New Zealand.
The following 8 subspecies are recognised:
chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) - Myanmar to central and eastern China (Sichuan, western Yunnan and Hainan northern and east to Hebei) and Taiwan.
forresti Rothschild, 1925 - North-western Yunnan and north-eastern Burma.
formosa (Kuroda, 1927) - Taiwan.
hainana (Hartert, 1910) - Hainan.
suratensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) - Pakistan, Nepal and India south to Sri Lanka, and east to Bhutan and Assam. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Western Spotted Dove (Spilopelia suratensis).
ceylonensis (Reichenbach, 1851) - Sri Lanka.
vacillans Hartert, 1916 - South-eastern Yunnan.
tigrina (Temminck, 1809) - Bangladesh, extreme north-eastern India, Myanmar and Thailand through Indochina, Philippines and Greater and Lesser Sundas to Timor.
Similar Species
At a distance and in flight with Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) which is smaller, slimmer and more compact, with a proportionately shorter tail and slightly longer wing-points and in flight with Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) which has a grey uppertail only narrowly tipped white.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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