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Namaqua Doves are very small, slender, long-tailed doves. They are one of only a few species of pigeons and doves with a distinctive dimorphism in their plumage, i.e. a pronounced difference between male and female. Apart from an off-white chin and edges on the ear coverts, female Namaqua Doves have an all-grey head, front and back. Only the upperwing coverts are lighter grey. The flight feathers are near-black dark-grey. Apart from the light-grey upperwing coverts both the upperwings and the underwings appear to be rufous with a black fringe in flight. The tail, which is long and narrow when perched, takes on a wedge shape in flight when gaining altitude or banking, exposing black tips and white edges on the outer tail feathers. Males have largely the same plumage as females, with one major exception: Their frons, lores, chin and chest are pitch-black, rather than grey. The irises of both sexes are black. Males have an orange bill with red base, females have a grey bill. The legs and feet of both sexes are dark pinkish-grey. Juveniles mostly resemble females, but have a variegated pattern on their upperwings and crop.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Namaqua Dove is available HERE .

The range of Namaqua Doves extends from most of Africa (anywhere to the South of the Sahara desert, except the Congo basin) and Magagascar, via parts of Arabia and the Middle East, into southern Asia Minor.

On the Arabian peninsula Namaqua Doves are found mostly along the Red Sea coast and in southern Yemen, but there is a population on the eastern side of the peninsula as well, where they are present along parts of the Persian Gulf coastline, but also in inland Saudi Arabia. In Oman we have found Namaqua Doves on the country's northern coastal fringe.

Namaqua Doves have a preference for acacia-dominated semi-desert country, but are found around farmland too. They are shy and do not normally allow close human proximity.

Namaqua Doves were first seen by us near Sohar, some 200 km West of Muscat, in May 2010.

The photos presented below taken in May 2010 were obtained at Sun Farms, Sohar (Batinah region). Special permission to enter the premises for bird photography is hereby most gratefully acknowledged.