Laughing Dove
Spilopelia senegalensis
- Family
- Doves and Pigeons (Columbidae)
- Order
- Columbiformes
Overview
The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. This small long-tailed dove is found in dry scrub and semi-desert habitats where pairs can often be seen feeding on the ground. It is closely related to the spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) which is distinguished by a white and black chequered necklace. Other names include laughing turtle dove, palm dove and Senegal dove while in Asia the name little brown dove is often used.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Cyprus
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Laughing dove
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.

