I've seen laughing doves (Spilopelia senegalensis) once before, in Jaffa, Israel. They were likely of the subspecies cambayensis, one of eight subspecies that have small plumage and size differences. I recently saw laughing doves again in Uzbekistan. These were of the subspecies ermanni, found in Afghanistan and Turkestan, which is a term that describes the area where the Turkish people live and includes Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the southern portions of Kazakhstan and western China.
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| This photo, taken in the shade, highlights the many different colors, particularly the transition of the lilac head to the pinkish belly, then shading to buff. |
The laughing dove has a lilac tinged head and neck, not apparent in the laughing doves we saw in Israel, but very apparent on the ones we saw in Uzbekistan.
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| Lilac head and neck are very visible. |
It is pinkish brown on the underside shading to buff. The upper parts are brownish and there is a blue/gray band along the bottom of the wing. The tail is graduated and the outer feathers are tipped in white. Split feathers on the side of the neck create a checkered rufus and gray patch (less apparent on these birds than on birds in pictures I've seen).
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| Blue/gray tinge on bottom of wing, white patch on end of tail feathers and checkered neck are visible. |
The name relates to the laughing character of its call.
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