The Spotted Dove was introduced to New Zealand as a cage bird but is now found in well treed suburbs, city parks and rural areas of Auckland, South Auckland, Te Puke and Opotiki.

The bird has a grey head tinged pink and the back, wings and rump are mottled brown.  The nape and back of the neck is black with white spots.  The long tail has darker outer feathers broadly tipped with white.  The eye is red, the bill is black and the feet are pink.  The call is a repeated ‘croo-croo’ or ‘cu-cu-croo-crook’.

They eat grass, clover and weed seeds, and split grain supplemented with the occasional invertebrates such as snails.

Breeding is mainly between October and February and they renest several times a season.  They lay 2 white eggs in a well concealed flimsy platform of twigs.  Both adults incubate for about 16 days and the chicks fledge at about 15 days old.

Rare sighting on Tiri.

Photography by: Max McRae ©

References: Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 2000 The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, Viking.