Animal-World > Birds > Doves - Pigeons > Diamond Dove

Diamond Dove

Family: ColumbidaeGeopelia cuneataPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The Diamond Dove is one of the smallest doves and is considered to be one of the most beautiful!

   The little Diamond Dove is very popular, second only to the larger Ringneck Dove. It is a most delightful and attractive pet with beautiful white spots or "diamonds' on its wings and shoulders. It is a perfect choice for a beginner as it is very hardy and easy to keep. It will readily breed and makes an excellent foster parent for the young of other small dove species.

   In the wild the Diamond Dove is quite prolific, but it is so extensively bred and readily available in captivity that it is generally considered to be a domestic dove.

For more information about the care of Doves and Pigeons see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Doves & Pigeons.

Geographic Distribution Geopelia cuneata Data provided by GBIF.org Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae

Scientific Name: Geopelia cuneata (also Strictopelia cuneata)

Subspecies:

• Diamond Dove
  Geopelia cuneata cuneata
• Geopelia cuneata mungi

Distribution:     The Diamond Dove is found in central and northern Australia. They are members of a group commonly called the Turtle Doves. They inhabit open terrain, grasslands and sparsely wooded areas especially around water. They are also found in the parks and gardens of cities and towns.

Description:     The Diamond Dove is a small bird, a little larger than a canary, with a long tail. Mature birds are about 7 1/2 inches (19 cm) long and will weigh about 1 1/2 oz (45 g). Their average life span is about 10 years.
   The head, breast, and neck are a light bluish-gray and the back is a light brown. The tail is a dark gray with the middle feathers tipped in black and the outer feathers tipped in white. The lower abdomen and under the tail are a creamy-white. The upper half of the wings and the shoulders are a brownish-gray scattered about with small white spots circled in black, thus the 'diamond' appearance. The lower half of the wing is a more chestnut color. The eye is orange-red surrounded by a coral-red orbital eye ring. The beak is olive brown and the legs are a pale pink.
   The male will have a darker head, neck, and breast than the female and the orbital eye ring will be larger, though these characteristics are not readily apparent until they are at least 6 months old. A young bird will have a browner head and overall feathering, and the eye and surrounding orbital ring will be paler.
   There are several mutations and color varieties of Diamond Doves with the most popular being silver. Others include varieties that are all white, dark gray, very brown, red, yellow, cinnamon, and pied.

Care and feeding:    Diamond Doves are usually kept in an aviary, but they can also easily be kept in a large parakeet cage with 3/8" bar spacing. The minimum size of the cage should be at least 18" square. Cages that are longer and wider are more important than tall cages as these birds flutter around and do not climb.
   Like the Ringneck Dove they are quite hardy. If they are kept outdoors and are accustomed to cold weather, they can take below freezing temperatures for a couple of days, but it is best to provide a heat source.
   A good finch or parakeet seed mix supplemented with greens rich in minerals, vitamins, and calcium is a fine diet. They not only enjoy their greens but will also enjoy spray millet, especially white millet. They also require grit and cuttlebone.
   See About Doves & Pigeons: Housing and About Doves & Pigeons: Care and Feeding for more information.

Social Behaviors:    They are good-natured social creatures that do well when kept in cages or in aviaries. Being very peaceful and tolerant, they can be housed kept with finches and canaries. They form permanent pairs and mates do well if kept together.
   See About Doves & Pigeons: Social Behaviors for more information on social behaviors of doves and pigeons.

Activities:
   The Diamond Dove gets its exercise through short flights about the aviary. If kept in a cage, the larger the better so they can get some exercise there too.

Breeding/Reproduction:    These are one of the doves that is dimorphic, meaning it can be sexed visually. It generally takes several together in order to tell the difference between the male and female, but the male will have a noticeably larger orange ring circling the eye. This difference, however, does not become apparent until they are about 6 months old so younger birds will be difficult to determine.
   Though Diamond Doves are not as prolific as the Ringnecks, they will breed in either a large cage or an aviary. They will need a nest, an open canary nest will work fine. Provide nesting materials such as dried grass and small twigs.
   They female will lay two eggs which will hatch in 13 - 14 days. Be sure to remove the young when they are weaned as the parents may start attacking them in an attempt to run them off. They do make very good foster parents for the young of other similar sized doves.
   See About Doves & Pigeons: Breeding/Reproduction for more information on breeding.

Potential Problems:   These birds are hardy and healthy if provided with a good environment and a good diet. Avoid an environment that is wet, cool, and drafty.
   See About Doves & Pigeons: Potential Problems for information on health.

Availability: Diamond Doves are readily available. Usually available at pet stores, but can also be found through bird shows, bird clubs or breeders

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS

Lastest Comments on Diamond Dove View all 24 comments on Diamond Dove Add Your Comment

Shari - 2012-04-20 I have 2 diamond doves. Male and female. I can't keep up with their mating habits. They just had one dove and they are at it again. It is possible to separate the birds? I need help I really don't want a dove farm and they are out of control. Also, when is the best time to remove the young dove. This is the first one they have had and I'm not sure when would be the best time. Please help. Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated. Charlie Roche - 2012-04-20 Best time to remove the little guy, unless you wish to hand feed is when you see him out of the nest box and totally eating on his own all the time. Mom will feed for awhile after the baby laves the box. Don't panic. I don't think you will wind up with a dove farm. Sometimes mom and dad are quite prolific when they decide to mate. They only had the one baby and there is normally two so instinct is just doing its thing. I wouldn't separate them. Possibly she would lay eggs anyway and they would both be pretty unhappy. Reply

Sreeparvathy - 2012-02-26 Hello, I had a pair of diamond doves but yesterday the male died. And the female has layed 2 eggs. It's 15 days or so that she has layed the eggs. But from today the female is not sitting on the eggs. Can you please let me know the number of days it will take for the eggs to hatch? And also is it ok if the female is alone? Charlie Roche - 2012-02-26 The eggs would have hatched by now and mom knows thius so she just stopped sitting them. They normally hatch in 13 - 14 days. Yes, you can have a lone dove but they are very social and would prefer to have a companion. Charlie Roche - 2012-02-27 I am not sure what you mean but if you are asking if the female will return to being a human companion - the answer is yes. She might be a little nervous at first but if you can just hold her and pet the top of her head - she will come around and she will be a soothing companion for her human. Anonymous - 2012-02-27 Well thank you for your reply. But there is another problem. Actually I have no way to get a companion for the female. So if I leave her open will she come back to us or no? Anonymous - 2012-03-02 Thanks a lot Reply

Awlad - 2011-11-13 I have two pair silver diamond dove. But 15 days ago I have separated them and kept them single. I thought they need rest. But now I want to pair them reversely. 1st pair's female is paired with 2nd pair's male. But they can't . Both of them fight. How can I pair them? Plz reply me. And how long I give rest the diamond dove. Jasmine Brough Hinesley - 2011-11-13 You may not need to give them any 'rest' time, why did you remove them and keep them single? Most doves are monogamous, meaning a pair will mate for life. So if the first pairs you had worked fine together, it might be best to keep them together and not try to switch them around. The pairs you want to create may not work well. Also make sure to provide an optimum mating/breeding environment. Read up on dove breeding tips on thisDove Reproduction/Breedingpage for more information. Jamie - 2012-02-18 I love the previous comment about them being monogomous as I largely agree. However I've found the males will fan their tails any all the other birds including the other males. The females are very tetchy though and will peck males who aren't their partner often quite aggressively. I have one male who lost his partner to illness. I brought a new female and kept them together in a seperate cage. It took just over 3 months for him to even acknowledge her existence (she'd taken to him within a week however) It took a fierce attack from another paired female I already had that he was fond of for him to finally decide she wasn't so bad after all. If the previous partners are within earshot I'll be surprised if you can get the females to pair with the new male to be honest! Reply

Claire - 2010-08-28 Hello, I am considering getting a diamond dove as a pet. My boyfriend has parakeets (budgies) who are loud and squawky, and I can't stand them. I read on a diamond dove website that they can be very noisy as well. Do you find this to be true? I recently met a parakeet who was very sweet and quiet, and the people at the pet store said it was because they had gotten him super young, and the manager had been training him. Should I try to get a very young dove as opposed to buying an adult in the store? I ask because I don't think I can handle having a super noisy bird of my own, and would hate to regret my decision to get one. Thanks! Peggy - 2010-09-03 I have Blue Diamond Doves and they are not noisy. They do coo at times which is a soothing sound. They are easy to take care of. Dora - 2010-09-21 I have 4 diamond doves. They are not noisy at all! If anything their cooing is kind of soothing. They just "coo, coo" and not too often. I love them! Amy Monroe - 2010-10-20 I've had a pair for about a month. They make noise but it's not anything like parakeets make. It's much quieter and peaceful. It reminds me of a tiny train whistle. :) They are great. My female laid her first egg today. Amy Monroe - 2010-10-20 I've had a pair for about a month. They make noise but it's not anything like parakeets make. It's much quieter and peaceful. It reminds me of a tiny train whistle. :) They are great. My female laid her first egg today. Bethany - 2010-11-08 They are not loud like parakeets are. The males coo's ARE loud, but they are not annoying either. And they are not constant, only a couple times a day at the most! Females are not very loud, they only let out the occasional coo. Young or old, doesn't really matter :) Mary Beth - 2012-02-01 I have diamondback doves love them and cockatiels and love them . Maybe you should look into Parrotlets Jamie - 2012-02-18 I didn't know they could be so noisy until I ended up with them! What started out as 5 back in early 2010 has now become 17 through unplanned breeding and rescuing sad looking birds from pet shops. The males CAN be very piercing; if one starts the mating call all the others respond and try to 'outshout' each other as it were. You can imagine my joy come summer when it starts getting light at 4am - earplugs are sometimes necessary as despite shutting them downstairs with the living room door shut their noise just carries throughout the building. Still love them though! Reply

Jennifer - 2010-08-03 I have a male diamond dove who is about two years old. But, some of things he does confuses me. For one thing, he sits in his food dish. I mean, he fits his whole entire body into his food dish, and I have no idea why. I know for a fact that he is a male, so he isn't nesting, but maybe he thinks he is? He also likes to pull up the newspaper I have on the bottom of his cage. He would rip it up if he were strong enough, I bet. He has a comfortable environment, and he's healthy. So, I wonder why the weird behavior? Levent Özönder - 2010-08-13 It is most probably because that cage does not have any soft surface for her to sit.They prefer to sit down on a space than sitting on a stick. I have a couple of these doves and I discovered this recently. Peggy - 2010-09-03 They like cozy. Provide him with a small basket with either shredded paper or hay in it. All birds like to tear up paper. I have several kinds and they all do it. Dora - 2010-09-21 I don't know why he sits in his food dish. I just wanted to comment that newspaper ink is toxic and will stain their feathers. I use regular white paper towels on the bottom of my doves cage. Kate - 2010-12-05 I also use paper towels in my birds cage. I bought my dove a nest at the pet store. I fill it up with paper towels. Sometimes he sits in it and sometimes it is not where i left it. Charlie Roche - 2012-02-08 They like a nesting area or platform or birdie buddy. They just like cozy and prefer a nest/basket something to sleep in. I think most birds will pull up paper. Just fun to do. Foster and Smith sell cage aper which is smooth and harder for them to get a hold of - or it just isn't as interesting. Foster and Smith Pet or Bird Supplies and they have a web site. Diana - 2012-02-08 Diamond doves for some reason have this thing with their tiny feet. They catch arthritis young so you need to make sure you dont use newspapers because they dry out their feet unlike paper towel. :) Reply

Parvaz - 2011-11-22 Hi, Greetings from me.I am 40 years man from Bangladesh. I have a small pigeon farm. I am so interested build a Diamond Dove farm. I need your help, how to step the fast. Please reply me. It will be very helpful for me. Thanks Parvaz From Bangladesh. Charlie Roche - 2011-11-24 I am going to go on the basis that you want to set up a dove breeding farm and what is the quickest way. I wasn't sure what you meant bu 'step up fast'. Doves will breed before they are a year old - but younger and more so if in a flock situation. The easiest thing to do to get started and most economical is to buy a pair of 'PROVEN DOVES' and get them set up. Then you can purchase other males and females and put them in a large flight. Have that flight close to the breeding pair. The younger birds will learn literally by seeing and being taught by the proven pair. As the younger doves pair (sitting together - preening) etc, move them to their own cage/area. Doves are great all together but they like their own space when breeding. They breed young but only if they know what they are doing. That is what the proven pair is for. Reply

Add your comment!

View all 24 comments on Diamond Dove

Back to Doves - Pigeons