Black-billed Wood Dove (Turtur abyssinicus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Black-billed Wood Dove

Turtur abyssinicus (Sharpe, 1902)

63 gWeight

The black-billed wood dove or black-billed dove (Turtur abyssinicus) is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in a belt across Africa just south of the Sahara Desert.

Busiest months: January and November · Most records: Gambia, Ghana, Senegal

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Black-billed Wood Dove has been recorded at 121 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 18 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Amurum Forest ReserveNigeria394 records
  2. Campement de WassadouSenegal381 records
  3. Murchison Falls NP – North sideUganda334 records
More places
  1. Parc Urbain Bangr-WeoogoBurkina Faso290 records
  2. Brufut WoodsGambia251 records
  3. Mole NP – Samole Loop & waterholeGhana232 records
  4. Mole NPGhana223 records
  5. Farasuto Forest Community NRGambia181 records
  6. Shai Hills Resource ReserveGhana180 records
  7. Abuko NRGambia176 records

Countries and regions with the most records

GambiaGhanaSenegalUgandaNigeriaBurkina FasoCameroonChad

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The black-billed wood dove or black-billed dove (Turtur abyssinicus) is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in a belt across Africa just south of the Sahara Desert.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Black-billed Wood Dove?

The Black-billed Wood Dove weighs around 63 g.

Where does the Black-billed Wood Dove live?

Its breeding range: Africa: Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda. It is most often recorded in Gambia, Ghana and Senegal.

When is the best time to see the Black-billed Wood Dove?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January and November (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Black-billed Wood Dove endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-billed Wood Dove as Least Concern.

What does the Black-billed Wood Dove eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Black-billed Wood Dove in?

It belongs to the family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae), order Columbiformes.

At a glance

Weight
63 g
Habitat
Shrubland
Diet
Seeds
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
105 mm
Tail
78 mm
Bill
16 mm
Tarsus
18 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Pigeons, Doves Columbidae
Genus
Turtur

Other birds in the genus Turtur

Emerald-spotted Wood DoveEmerald-spotted Wood DoveTurtur chalcospilosBlue-spotted Wood DoveBlue-spotted Wood DoveTurtur aferTambourine DoveTambourine DoveTurtur tympanistriaBlue-headed Wood DoveBlue-headed Wood DoveTurtur brehmeriRock DoveRock DoveColumba liviaHill PigeonHill PigeonColumba rupestrisSnow PigeonSnow PigeonColumba leuconotaSpeckled PigeonSpeckled PigeonColumba guineaWhite-collared PigeonWhite-collared PigeonColumba albitorquesStock DoveStock DoveColumba oenas
Black-billed Wood Dove

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Paul Cools. ↗

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