Blue-headed Wood Dove (Turtur brehmeri)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Blue-headed Wood Dove

Turtur brehmeri (Hartlaub, 1865)

116 gWeight

The blue-headed wood dove (Turtur brehmeri), also known as the blue-headed dove, is a medium-sized (up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long), rufous brown wood-dove with bluish-grey head, iridescent green patches on wings, reddish bill, dark brown iris, and dark red feet.

Busiest months: January and November · Most records: Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: January and November · Most records: Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire

Blue-headed Wood Dove has been recorded at 59 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Ankasa NPGhana443 records
  2. Bosque Científica – Selva PrimariaEquatorial Guinea203 records
  3. Atewa Range – upland forest & ridgeGhana185 records
More places
  1. Kakum NP – CanopyGhana181 records
  2. Kakum NP – Canopy Walkway & vicinityGhana119 records
  3. Ankasa NP – entrance vicinityGhana101 records
  4. Kakum National ParkGhana91 records
  5. Bobiri Butterfly SanctuaryGhana57 records
  6. Taï National ParkCôte d’Ivoire47 records
  7. Nsuta ForestGhana47 records

Countries and regions with the most records

GhanaEquatorial GuineaCôte d’IvoireSierra LeoneGabonCentral African RepublicCameroonCongo - Brazzaville

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 blue-headed wood dove (Turtur brehmeri), also known as the blue-headed dove, is a medium-sized (up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long), rufous brown wood-dove with bluish-grey head, iridescent green patches on wings, reddish bill, dark brown iris, and dark red feet. Both sexes are similar. The young is duller in colour than adult.

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

Questions

How big is the Blue-headed Wood Dove?

The Blue-headed Wood Dove weighs around 116 g.

Where does the Blue-headed Wood Dove live?

Its breeding range: Africa: western, central. It is most often recorded in Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.

When is the best time to see the Blue-headed Wood Dove?

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

Is the Blue-headed Wood Dove endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Blue-headed Wood Dove as Least Concern.

What does the Blue-headed Wood Dove eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Blue-headed Wood Dove in?

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

At a glance

Weight
116 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Omnivore
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
126 mm
Tail
107 mm
Bill
18 mm
Tarsus
27 mm

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

Range

Africa: western, central

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 chalcospilosBlack-billed Wood DoveBlack-billed Wood DoveTurtur abyssinicusBlue-spotted Wood DoveBlue-spotted Wood DoveTurtur aferTambourine DoveTambourine DoveTurtur tympanistriaRock DoveRock DoveColumba liviaHill PigeonHill PigeonColumba rupestrisSnow PigeonSnow PigeonColumba leuconotaSpeckled PigeonSpeckled PigeonColumba guineaWhite-collared PigeonWhite-collared PigeonColumba albitorquesStock DoveStock DoveColumba oenas
Blue-headed Wood Dove

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

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