11-4-2024 VARANASI, INDIA - LAUGHING DOVE (Spilopelia senegalensis)

The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a pigeon widespread in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It was introduced to Perth in 1889 and has become established around Western Australia. Birds that land on ships may be introduced to new regions.The Laughing dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon. It is pinkish brown on the underside with a lilac-tinged head and neck. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to buff on the lower abdomen. A chequered rufous and grey patch is found on the sides of the neck of adults and is made up of split feathers. The upper parts are brownish with a bluish-grey band along the wing. The back is uniform and dull brown in the South Asian population. The African populations have a bluish-grey rump and upper tail coverts but differ in the shades of the neck and wing feathers while S. s. aegyptiaca subspecies is larger and the head and nape are vinous and upper wing coverts are rufous. The tail is graduated and the outer feathers are tipped in white. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. Young birds lack the chequered neck markings. The legs are red. The populations vary slightly in plumage with those from more arid zones being paler.

Laughing doves are found in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. It is also found in Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the UAE, and Turkey. They are mostly sedentary but some populations may make movements. Laughing doves inhabit dry scrub, wooded savannas, grasslands, dry farmlands, and areas of human habitation.