Name the doves please

QI have lived in Middleton, Manchester, for a number years and have seen the large grey Collared Doves on a daily basis in the area, but in the last two months I have noticed several doves smaller than a pigeon, that are brown with a black ring on the back of their necks. Alec

AIt sounds like you’ve got two species confused here – the second ones that you talk about are the Collared Doves, which were unknown in the UK until the 1950s but now breed here in considerable numbers. The large grey doves that you mention are more likely to be Woodpigeons, which do have a white neck patch that looks rather like a collar. You may also get a certain amount of Feral Pigeons, which can show features similar to Woodpigeons.