Namaqua doves
Namaqua doves are regular visitors to waterholes where they can arrive in large numbers and congregate in numbers up to several hundred. Their arrival is easily recognized by their hard, noisy wing beats. With standing water along the roads, some drinking birds allowed us to get close!
The Namaqua dove is unique amongst the African doves, showing obvious sexual dimorphism. The female lacks the black facial mask of the male and immature doves are a greyish colour with dark wavy barring over most of the plumage. Young males start to show the black feathers on the chest by three months.
Namaqua doves
Namaqua doves are regular visitors to waterholes where they can arrive in large numbers and congregate in numbers up to several hundred. Their arrival is easily recognized by their hard, noisy wing beats. With standing water along the roads, some drinking birds allowed us to get close!
The Namaqua dove is unique amongst the African doves, showing obvious sexual dimorphism. The female lacks the black facial mask of the male and immature doves are a greyish colour with dark wavy barring over most of the plumage. Young males start to show the black feathers on the chest by three months.