Hi! A bird has been hanging out in the tree outside our window for two weeks now, eating from our bird feeder and watching everything we do in the living room. At first I thought the stationary activity was because s/he was sick (there is no nest in sight, and he roosts here ALL day and night), but now I am wondering if s/he was previously domestic. It seems that a ringneck dove is domestic and a eurasian collared dove is not. Could anyone help me determine what kind of dove s/he is? The coo sounds like the one identified on youtube as a ringneck dove, but I'm not a bird expert and it could be misidentified/share the same coo as a collared dove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbkOqgvqId0&t=50s
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Ringneck Dove or Eurasian Collared Dove? Southern California (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter smsorenti
- Start date
It looks like the domesticated form to me: whitish undertail coverts, pale wingtips. The parent species, by the way, is not the Eurasian Collared-dove (of foreign origin but now ubiquitous around human habitation in most of the US) but the closely related African Collared-dove which occurs here only in its domesticated form.
Last edited:
Not necessarily someone's pet. There are small feral populations of Ring-necked Doves in many places, including southern California. There may be sporadic breeding--and some inter-breeding with the Eurasians--but none of these populations are self-sustaining as far as I know and the individual doves seem to do just fine in the "wild".
I've had 1-2 Ring-necked Doves in my backyard off and on for several years now where they consort with (and maybe even interbreed with though I've never found a nest) the local Eurasian CDs and appear to thrive. So, getting back to your bird, I just leave it be since it's eating and seem to be healthy.
Ah okay, thanks for the clarification. I guess I jumped to him being truly domesticated because he watches us from the window all day and is just so stationary. Also, he did appear ill the first week--puffy, lethargic, etc.--and I left out a rehabilitative water mix for him. But I do suppose all these things don't necessarily point to 'pet' and he seems to be doing fine now, just kind of wistful for something.
You might be interested in this article on collared doves from a Los Angles expert: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/LACoBirds/conversations/messages/19222
this is very helpful. Although it says that Ringneck doves are rare ("African Collared-Dove” or “African Collared-Dove (domestic type or Ringed Turtle-Dove)...occasionally seen in the wild as an escapee (or a survivor of ceremonial release), individuals don’t seem to survive for long and the only known small populations (e.g. near downtown Los Angeles in the 19502 to 1970s) have long since died out.”) the link that identifies vocalizations actually seems to confirm that the bird is not the more common Eurasian collared dove which has three coos and is instead the African Collared/ringed dove. And if they are not common in California, that does lead me again to assume that the bird has some connections with humans. Beginning attempts to socialize with the bird have confirmed this. He lets me get within 6 inches of him without showing signs of agitation and only if I attempt to approach further will he jump up one branch. Still wondering what to do as he definitely appears to be domestic, based now on visual ID, vocalizaiton, and behavior. Thanks for all your help, and I am open to any suggestions as to how to care for a semi-domestic bird in my tree!
Yep, I definitely have been spreading seed and leaving out water. My more long-term worry is whether he can sustain a life outdoors. There are predators and heavy traffic on our street, plus the bird doesn't seem to have a quick defensive reflex--he let my dog sniff him when he was on the ground and only fluttered to the tree when I ran over to try to intervene. I'm not especially keen on caging him but I'm not sure what kind of life he is best equipped for.
