Skip to content
Geopelia

Specimen image via iDigBio

EntityQ905420· pop 36· linked from 73 articles

Geopelia is a genus of small, long-tailed doves in the family Columbidae. They are native to South-east Asia and Australasia and are most often found in open country and scrubland. They feed mainly on seeds which they find by foraging on the ground. They typically lay two eggs in a simple nest of twigs and grass. Their plumage is mostly greyish-brown with a pattern of spots or bars. The zebra dove and diamond dove are commonly kept in captivity.

Species

GENUS

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassAves
  4. OrderColumbiformes
  5. FamilyColumbidae
Observations recorded1,487,856

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
459
With media
1
Family
Columbidae
Collections
ANWC, NHMUK, MNHN, NMV, WAM, AM
Recorded in
Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Australia, Australie

~1 min read

Encyclopedic overview

2 sections
Contents
  • References
  • External links

Geopelia is a genus of small, long-tailed doves in the family Columbidae. They are native to South-east Asia and Australasia and are most often found in open country and scrubland. They feed mainly on seeds which they find by foraging on the ground. They typically lay two eggs in a simple nest of twigs and grass. Their plumage is mostly greyish-brown with a pattern of spots or bars. The zebra dove and diamond dove are commonly kept in captivity.

The genus was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William Swainson with the zebra dove (Geopelia striata) as the type species. The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek geō- meaning "ground-" and peleia meaning "dove".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Geopelia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (3)