Bar shouldered doves are one of the most common bird species in our backyards. These tubby looking medium sized birds have a blue-grey head and neck. Adult birds have a bronze coloured patch of feathers edged with a distinctive barred pattern on their shoulders. Younger doves don’t have this patch, it develops with age, they also tend to be duller in color overall. The feathers on a bar shouldered doves upper part are dark grey to black, again with barring on the edges. Their wings are a beautiful bronze color and their tummy area is a soft fawn. With these tastefully colored feathers the bar shouldered dove should look quite dapper, however the effect is somewhat marred by a pair of big, clownishly pink feet.

These birds are widespread across the Top End with their range extending down the east coast into New South Wales. They are found in a variety of habitats but prefer to feed on the ground in areas of grass surrounded by dense cover, making conditions in our parks and gardens ideal for them. 

People are often curious as to how they can attract birds to their gardens. Bar shouldered doves are an easily pleased backyard buddy; they eat the seeds of grasses and other small plants making a scruffy lawn surrounded by slightly overgrown shrubs a veritable paradise. Doves need to drink throughout the day and a regularly cleaned and refilled bird bath is much appreciated. 

Bar shouldered doves will happily nest in your garden, hiding a flimsy platform constructed of twigs and roots in thick shrubbery. They breed year round in the Top End, laying two shiny white eggs that they incubate for 14 days. 

While it is tempting to try to attract birds like bar shouldered doves to your garden by putting out bird seed it is not in the best interests of your prospective visitors. A better idea is to provide sheltering shrubs and seeding grasses, and wait for the crowds to arrive.