[TN-Bird] African Collared-Dove (Greene Co., TN)

August 28, 2008

This evening at about 6:55, I observed an African Collared-Dove near Tusculum 
in Greene County.  The precise location was C.M. Jones Road 0.4 mile from 
Shiloh Road.

(African Collared-Dove is the current AOU name for the bird known formerly as 
Ringed Turtle-Dove.  The change was announced in AOU's 47th Supplement to the 
Check-list of North American Birds and was reported on TN-bird on July 7, 2006 
by Dean Edwards.  The announcement also appeared in Birding, v. 39, no. 1 
(January-February 2007), p. 33-34.  Ringed Turtle-Dove is considered to be a 
domesticated form of African Collared-Dove.  The AOU does not consider African 
Collared-Dove to be a self-sustaining species in North America.  Although small 
populations form, they tend to die out quickly.)

I observed the dove with binoculars at close range for several minutes as it 
perched on a light wire and later when it flew, and thus was able to note all 
major field marks.  In overall size, it was a little larger than a Mourning 
Dove but a little smaller and less plump than a Eurasian Collared-Dove.  The 
predominant color was peachy-tan rather than chalky gray-white.  The primary 
tips were noticeably paler than the wing tips of Eurasian Collared-Dove.  Both 
the undertail coverts and the underside of the tail were a uniform light gray 
color.  I did not detect any dark web on the tail.  The collar was visible but 
lighter in color and less sharply defined than on Eurasian Collared-Dove.  When 
the bird flew, the flight jizz was more like that of a Mourning Dove than a 
Eurasian Collared-Dove (more "dovelike" rather than "pigeonlike", i.e., more 
agile and streamlined).

I spoke with two property owners who also had observed the bird.  They were 
aware that it was an unusual dove and commented that today was the first day 
that they had seen it.  I have travelled C.M. Jones Road an average of at least 
twice a week for the last decade or so, and have never noticed any doves there 
other than Mourning.

Interesting notes: 

The Migrant, v. 37, no. 4 (December 1966), p. 73-74 contains an account of a 
Ringed Turtle-Dove about three miles south of Greeneville.  The bird was 
present from mid-April 1965 until January 17, 1966.

Several times in the mid-1990's, local birders reported a Ringed Turtle-Dove in 
the Tusculum area.  My personal records contain an entry for Ringed Turtle-Dove 
on August 29, 1995 on Park Avenue West in Tusculum.  Tomorrow is the thirteenth 
anniversay of that sighting.

Don Miller
Greeneville, Greene Co., TN 
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