[obol] Re: RFI: Immature Eurasian-collared Doves
- From: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- To: Wayne Hoffman <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>, Hannah Fritz <hannah.fritz@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2014 06:28:08 +0000
Hannah,
Like Wayne, I occasionally see odd 'pale morph' (for lack of a better term)
Eurasian Collared-Doves. If you spend much time in the small farming
communities east of the Cascades, E. Collared-Doves are now one of the most
abundant species. Seemingly every little town has one or two of the nearly
white variety of Eurasian Collared-Dove. Other than being paler, they are the
same size and show markings that identical to the typical color form. If they
are anything like Mourning Doves and I think they are–Mourning Doves have been
found nesting in Illinois in every month of the year–it is perhaps no surprise
that collared-doves have populated North America so rapidly.
In terms of plumage aspects, Mourning Doves (according to birds of North
America) have three. Two (juvenile and formative) occur in the first year of
life and then there is a perpetually repeating basic plumage that will be
replaced annually. Juvenile plumages are very short-lived in almost all bird
families, with the preformative molt commencing shortly after they leave the
nest. There are, of course exceptions to this, most notably raptors and to a
lesser extent shorebirds, which migrate in juvenile plumages.
In Mourning Dove, and likely other related doves and pigeons, the prefomative
molt is essentially a prebasic molt as all, or nearly all of the feathers are
replaced in a protracted molt. The resulting plumage at the end of the
preformative molt is described as being nearly identical to the basic plumage
worn by after second-year (adult) birds. To our unpracticed eyes, Mourning
Doves and presumably Eurasian Collared-Doves are likely to either look like
juveniles–in the case of Mourning Dove this is a scaly appearance with
conspicuous pales edges on all the mantle, scapular, and covert feathers as
well as a scaly appearance to the underparts–or they will look like adults
(following the preformative molt). If you've been watching your bird for any
length of time and its plumage has not changed, it is likely an after
hatch-year bird that hatched in 2013 or earlier.
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2014 17:09:07 -0700
Subject: [obol] Re: RFI: Immature Eurasian-collared Doves
From: whoffman@xxxxxxxx
To: hannah.fritz@xxxxxxxxx
CC: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi -
Eurasian Collared-doves have a fairly rare pale morph, which is what this bird
appears to be. Although escaped/feral Ringed Turtle-Dove have apparently
occurred in Oregon, I suspect most of those reported are actually these
pale-morph Eurasians. Captive-reared Ringed-Turtledoves are a bit smaller, and
in your photo with 2 birds they seem the same size.
The Eurasian Collared-Doves that have recently colonized North America had at
least a brief episode of captivity and probably captive breeding in their
history, so perhaps these pale birds were a selected variety.
Wayne
On Sun, Jun 8, 2014 at 3:26 PM, Hannah Fritz <hannah.fritz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I've been curious about a dove that's been visiting my yard for about a month
now. It's much paler than the typical dark gray Eurasian Collared-Doves that I
have. I am assuming it is an immature bird, but trying to find a description of
immature Eurasian Collared-Doves is being somewhat elusive, since it's mixed in
with reports of African Collared-Doves/Ringed Turtledoves/whatever you want to
call them and how to tell the two apart. I haven't been able to see the bird
from underneath, to check out the undertail coverts, nor have I heard it. Or..
I have heard ECDs and nothing else, which may be just as telling.
I know if this bird were anything other than an imm. ECD, it would be an
escapee, and I'm not looking to "count" it. Just curious if this is what young
birds look like, or just a different color variation or what.
A few pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/eggwhite/birds/dove_zps4d384798.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/eggwhite/birds/doves_zps577e1176.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/eggwhite/birds/msyt_dove_zps1cff0cc9.png
Thanks!
Hannah Fritz
St. Helens, OR
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