How big is a Somali Pigeon?

The Somali Pigeon is a large sized bird weighing about 308 g.

Where can you see a Somali Pigeon?

The Somali Pigeon is endemic to Somalia, which is the only country where it occurs.

What birds look similar to a Somali Pigeon?

The Somali Pigeon is most easily confused with the Yellow-legged Pigeon, the White-naped Pigeon and the Comoro Olive Pigeon.

Is the Somali Pigeon endangered?

The Somali Pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Somali Pigeon

Columba oliviae

Doves and Pigeons · Columbiformes · Legendary

The Somali Pigeon (Columba oliviae) is a legendary doves and pigeon found only in Somalia, weighing about 308 g. The Somali pigeon or Somali stock dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae.

Least ConcernLegendaryEndemicEats seedsgrassland308 g

Somali Pigeon (Columba oliviae), photo 1 — Photo: Bank of Somaliland · Public domain

Somali Pigeon (Columba oliviae), photo 2 — Photo: Kjeuring · CC BY 3.0

About the Somali Pigeon

The Somali pigeon or Somali stock dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Somalia. The IUCN Redlist identified a possible threat to the species from the speckled pigeon. C. oliviae is found mostly on the ground, where it often forages, most frequently in rock along arid coasts.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

C. oliviae is a mid-sized pigeon with pale grey coloration, a mauve cap, yellow eyes and an iridescent collar with bronze-green tones. It has a bluish-gray rump, dark wing edges and dark bands along its tail; all of these features are most clearly seen in flight. Its range overlaps with that of the much darker and more densely spotted speckled pigeon, which is rapidly expanding into the Somali pigeon's territory. Unlike various species of collared doves with which its range overlaps, it lacks a characteristic dark band on the hind-neck. It may also be confused with feral pigeons (C. Voice: As with many other aspects of the species, the Somali pigeon's vocalizations are not well known, but have described as a "wuk-wuk-wuk-ooooh". It also produces other pigeon-like noises, including cooing sounds.

Where it lives

Somalia

When to see it

Best months: January, February, March, April, June, August, September, October, with peak activity in January. It is a variable species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Somali Pigeon?: C. oliviae is a mid-sized pigeon with pale grey coloration, a mauve cap, yellow eyes and an iridescent collar with bronze-green tones. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Somali Pigeon?: The Somali Pigeon is a large sized bird weighing about 308 g.
Where can you see a Somali Pigeon?: The Somali Pigeon is endemic to Somalia, which is the only country where it occurs.
What birds look similar to a Somali Pigeon?: The Somali Pigeon is most easily confused with the Yellow-legged Pigeon, the White-naped Pigeon and the Comoro Olive Pigeon.
Is the Somali Pigeon endangered?: The Somali Pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Somali Pigeon for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

Play BeakBrain

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.