Oriental Turtle Dove

Oriental Turtle Dove

Scientific Name: Streptopelia orientalis

Malay Name: Tekukur Emas Asia

Chinese Name: 山斑鸠

Range: Breeding Range: Siberia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indian subcontinent, Tibet, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. In South-east Asia, resident in Myanmar, Thailand. Winter visitor to Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: meena, orientalis, stimpsoni, erythrocephala, agricola.

Size: 31-33cm

Identification: Resemble Spotted Dove but larger, bulkier, and darker overall. Barred rather than spotted side of neck. Bluish-grey crown. Rufous fringes to lower mantle and wing coverts. Broader rufous fringes to scapulars. Bluish-slate rump and uppertail coverts.

Similar looking species: Spotted Dove

Habitat: Open forest, secondary growth, scrub and plantation.

Behaviour/Ecology:

Local Status: Ship-assisted/Escapee

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Featured articles:

Featured reports: Jan 2023, Feb 2023, Jan 2024, Dec 2024, Jan 2025

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Oriental Turtle Dove at Tokyo, Japan. Photo credit: Keita Sin
Oriental Turtle Dove at Bhutan. Photo credit: Francis Yap
External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Oriental Turtle-Dove)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Streptopelia orientalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22690439A93273750.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Oriental Turtle Dove. Retrieved on June 12, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/oriental-turtle-dove.

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