Spilopelia
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Spilopelia is a genus of doves that are closely related to Streptopelia and Nesoenas, but distinguished from them by differences in morphology and genetics. Some authors had argued that Stigmatopelia is the valid name as it appears in an earlier line of the same work by the Swedish zoologist Carl Sundevall, but Richard Schodde and Ian J. Mason had earlier, in their 1999 zoological catalogue of Australian birds, chosen Spilopelia in treating these two names as applying to the same genus; their choice stands under clause 24(b) of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) which supports the decision of the first reviser. The name Spilopelia combines the Ancient Greek spilos meaning "spot" and peleia meaning "dove".
Species
The genus includes just two species:
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotted dove Spilopelia chinensis suratensis, India | Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) Five subspecies Spilopelia chinensis suratensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789)Spilopelia chinensis ceylonensis (Reichenbach, 1851)Spilopelia chinensis tigrina (Temminck, 1809)Spilopelia chinensis chinensis (Scopoli, 1786)Spilopelia chinensis hainana (Hartert, 1910) | Indian subcontinent and in East and Southeast Asia | Size: 27–30 cm; 125–130 g Habitat: moist woodland, gardens Diet: seeds including grain, small fruit | LC increasing |
| Laughing dove Spilopelia senegalensis senegalensis, Botswana | Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) Five subspecies Spilopelia senegalensis phoenicophila (Hartert, 1916)Spilopelia senegalensis aegyptiaca (Latham, 1790)Spilopelia senegalensis senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766)Spilopelia senegalensis cambayensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789)Spilopelia senegalensis ermanni (Bonaparte, 1856) | Africa, the Middle East, South Asia | Size: 23–27 cm; 71–92 g Habitat: villages, gardens, dry woodland, savanna Diet: seeds including grain, small fruit, insects | LC increasing |
Some ornithologists split the spotted dove into the eastern spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) and the western spotted dove (Spilopelia suratensis), but this has not to date been accepted by the IOC.