# Personality differences / similarities between diamond doves and ringneck doves



## no.such.girl (Dec 11, 2012)

My poor Naughty Bird died last week. I was devastated 

At first, I didn't think I'd ever want another bird, but now that I'm feeling a bit better, I realize I probably do want / need another bird. Naughty Bird was a diamond dove and I just fell in love with his little personality (and big attitude). I just don't think it would be good for me to have another that looks like him. May be silly of me, but if I got another diamond I'm scared I'd be reminded of Naughty Bird all the time and I miss him enough as it is.

So I'm thinking about getting a ringneck dove. I'm just wondering about personality similarities / differences. If they're too different I'll get another diamond - I'm sure I'd eventually quit thinking about Naughty Bird every time I looked at him.

Has anyone here owned both? anybody have any insight?


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## Trish in Dallas (Jun 5, 2012)

Greetings! I'm happy to hear you're thinking about getting another dove, and am still so sorry about Naughty Bird. I had a similar loss and I know your heart is aching. When I was 14 my pet mourning dove was injured and subsequently euthanized by a vet. That bird, Bandit, had been my best friend. Sounds silly, but it was true. His wings weren't clipped but he went everywhere with me, inside or out. He learned to fetch and even charmed the librarians into allowing him inside with me (no cooing!). When he injured a wing during a night fright and my mom took him to the vet, he was euthanized. I didn't even get his body back; they "disposed of it".
I was completely crushed. I stopped eating. I couldn't sleep. Everywhere I turned there were reminders of Bandit. Bobby pins he'd fetched and stashed, a feather, even an old dropping would make me so sad. I saw him in every mourning dove outside, and there are a lot in Dallas. I'm 44 now and have never forgotten how much I loved him, what a good bird he was, and how devastated I was for a long time after he died. 
Your Naughty Bird will always have a special place in your heart and no other bird will ever replace him. 
About five months after Bandit died, I still missed him terribly and thought getting another bird might help. I couldn't get another mourning dove; they're a protected species and Bandit had been a rescue. I found a ringneck dove breeder and we went to visit her. She had a room full of doves and I caught sight of a young dove, just fledging, able to eat seeds but still with a little fuzz. He was all feet and beak and big brown eyes. I bought him for $2 and took him home. It was summer, so he was with me constantly the next few weeks. By the time school started again, HooHoo had grown into a beautiful pale brown adult male bird who turned out to be just as devoted and entertaining as Bandit had been but had his own unique "personality".
I've never had diamond doves, but I've read and observed that they're feisty little guys. Ring necks as a rule are generally a little more laid back, even the males. I had an Inca dove for awhile before he went to bird rehab, that loved to spar with me. He'd attack my hand and I'd raise my fingers at him and the game would be on. Charging, wings lifted threateningly, the whole bit. When he was tired of sparring he'd lean his head over for a scratch in his neck feathers...from the same hand he'd been charging at seconds before. It has been my experience that ringnecks are more affectionate than feisty. 
Ringneck doves are considerably larger than diamond doves and would require a large cage plus time outside the cage to fly free. That might be something to consider before getting one. I think if you were to get another diamond dove it might remind you of Naughty Bird but its personality would quickly distinguish it and give it its own identity.
I don't know a lot about diamond doves, but there's a website, DiamondDoveInfo, that has a ton of information on them including stories about individual birds the owner has had over the years, some funny and some sad. There is good info on other dove species too, but her main focus is diamond doves. I hope you check it out.
One more bit of advice on getting a single dove, no matter what species: get a young bird, preferably a fledgling or just past that stage if you want to form a strong bond. You'll have a friend for life. 
Here's to Naughty Bird, he will live forever in your heart.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

I've never had a Diamond Dove, only Tiny, the Whitewing, and DeeDee, the ringneck, but I find more similarities than differences in the two of those. Tiny was extremely attached to me, very loving, and so is DeeDee. I wish we'd had Tiny longer. When he flew into that ceiling fan, it broke my heart: he was only about four months old.

All I can say is, try a ringneck. If you get one that's very young...a fledgling...it will bond with you very easily. At least just looking at the ringneck won't immediately remind you of Naughty Bird, but you should be pleased with the ringneck's personality. of course, all of them are very different individuals.

Good luck!


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

I've had both Ringneck and Diamond Doves. I think Diamonds, being smaller and less domesticated, are often slower to tame than Ringnecks. I would guess that some might stay more wild - although Ringnecks that have been handled roughly or only lived in an aviary might be hard to tame too.

But my own experiences have been different. I had an extremely tame single Diamond Dove (male) that was as tame and friendly as a bird can be, And he was utterly fearless! I named him Pecker because he used to peck at (attack) his reflection in my toaster, whenever I let him out of his cage. But he was also quietly friendly too. He would fly over to me whenever I called him and cuddle on my arm or shoulder as long as I would let him. He did have several mates and fathered several babies but he got so aggressive with them that I ended up selling the mothers along with the babies, so they wouldn't get pecked!

A photo of Pecker, back in the 1980s - he lived to 15 years old:


More recently though, I have several Ringneck Doves. They are also very friendly. There are many times when I let them out and, before long, they are all sitting on my arms or shoulders and "cuddling" too. One advantage of a Ringneck over a Diamond is that they are larger and tougher - so a Ringneck is less likely to get in trouble or injured exploring your house and much harder to lose.

Here is Tricksy, one of my current Ringnecks:


So my conclusion is both species make good pets. I would guess that Diamonds can be trickier and slower to hand-tame. I think the biggest factor for a tame dove, once you pick the species, is to get a dove that was raised in a calm situation in someone's house (rather than a big aviary - where their only contact with humans has been someone scaring them and catching them in a net).

I think a lot of new pet bird owners try to handle and "pet" their birds too much, especially at first, and then they wonder why their birds are scared of them. "Petting" is a mammal thing - birds don't "handle" each other in nature. Some birds tolerate and like "petting" but it may take a long while before they are comfortable with that. When taming birds, people need to be patient and be content to have them perch on top of your hand - and avoid grabbing them or petting them, as it can un-do all your progress.


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