BIRDWALKERMONDAY

This Blog contains Wildlife and Bird Photos from Walks, Safaris, Birding Trips and Vacations. Most of the pictures have been taken with my Nikon P900 and P950X cameras. On the right of the page are labels for each species of Bird/Animal etc. Click on a label and it will show all of the photos taken for that species. I am adding as much information for each species as I can from sources Wikipedia. To see any pictures at full size just click on the picture.

Showing posts with label EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto). Show all posts

Saturday 30 March 2024

30-3-2024 RIO SERPIS GANDIA, VALENCIA - EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto)

The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a dove species native to Europe and Asia. During the 20th century, the Eurasian collared dove spectacularly expanded its range from the Middle East to right across Europe. Accidentally introduced in 1974 into the Bahamas, this pale chunky bird soon spread to the mainland in Florida. A relative of the mourning dove, its name comes from its black half-collar around its neck.

The Eurasian collared dove is grey-buff to pinkish-grey overall, a little darker above than below, with a blue-grey underwing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey and tipped white below; the outer tail feathers are also tipped whitish above. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is red, but from a distance, the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown iris can be seen around the black pupil. The eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow. The two sexes are virtually indistinguishable; juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris.

Monday 18 March 2024

17-3-2024 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto)

The original range of this bird was warmer temperate regions across southeastern Europe and Japan. However, during the twentieth century, it extended across all of Europe, by 1953 reaching Great Britain, and Ireland soon after. Now it also breeds in Scandinavia. In the 1970s it was introduced into the Bahamas, and to Florida in the 1980s, and has gradually colonized the North American continent. Eurasian collared doves do not migrate and live in towns and cities, in urban gardens and parks. In their original range, they typically occur in semi-desert regions with scattered trees, or mixed thickets and orchards.

Tuesday 5 March 2024

5-3-2024 RIO SERPIS GANDIA, VALENCIA - EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto)

The Eurasian collared dove, collared dove or Turkish dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean.

The Eurasian collared dove is not migratory, but is strongly dispersive. Over the last century, it has been one of the great colonisers of the bird world, travelling far beyond its native range to colonise colder countries, becoming a permanent resident in several of them. Its original range at the end of the 19th century was warm temperate and subtropical Asia from Turkey east to southern China and south through India to Sri Lanka. In 1838 it was reported in Bulgaria, but not until the 20th century did it expand across Europe, appearing in parts of the Balkans between 1900 and 1920, and then spreading rapidly northwest, reaching Germany in 1945, Great Britain by 1953 (breeding for the first time in 1956), Ireland in 1959, and the Faroe Islands in the early 1970s. Subsequent spread was 'sideways' from this fast northwestern spread, reaching northeast to north of the Arctic Circle in Norway and east to the Ural Mountains in Russia, and southwest to the Canary Islands and northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt, by the end of the 20th century. In the east of its range, it has also spread northeast to most of central and northern China, and locally (probably introduced) in Japan. It has also reached Iceland as a vagrant (41 records up to 2006), but has not colonised successfully there.

The Eurasian collared dove is a medium-sized dove, distinctly smaller than the wood pigeon, similar in length to a rock pigeon but slimmer and longer-tailed, and slightly larger than the related European turtle dove, with an average length of 32 cm (13 in)[14] from tip of beak to tip of tail, with a wingspan of 47–55 cm (19–22 in), and a weight of 125–240 g (4.4–8.5 oz). It is grey-buff to pinkish-grey overall, a little darker above than below, with a blue-grey underwing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey and tipped white below; the outer tail feathers are also tipped whitish above. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is red, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown iris can be seen around the black pupil. The eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow. The two sexes are virtually indistinguishable; juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris. The subspecies S. d. xanthocycla differs in having yellow rather than white eye-rings, darker grey on the head and the underparts a slightly darker pink.

The song is a goo-GOO-goo. The Eurasian collared dove also makes a harsh loud screeching call lasting about two seconds, particularly in flight just before landing. A rough way to describe the screeching sound is a hah-hah.

Eurasian collared doves cooing in early spring are sometimes mistakenly reported as the calls of early-arriving common cuckoos and, as such, a mistaken sign of spring's return.

Saturday 22 April 2023

22-4-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/2969-Streptopelia-decaocto

The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2014.

The Eurasian collared dove is not wary and often feeds very close to human habitation, including visiting bird tables; the largest populations are typically found around farms where spilt grain is frequent around grain stores or where livestock are fed. It is a gregarious species and sizeable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain (its main food) as well as seeds, shoots and insects. Flocks most commonly number between 10 and 50, but flocks of up to 10,000 have been recorded.