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Eurasian Collared-Dove seen in Tucson (1 Viewer)

According to Ebird Collared Doves are now very common in Arizona and throughout most of the US. They have increased a lot in recent times though.
 
Some info from: http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/887/overview/Eurasian_Collared-Dove.aspx

The Eurasian Collared-Dove is one of two species that have been argued to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary Dove.
Their scientific name, Streptopeleia decaocto, literally means a collar (streptos) dove (peleia). In Greek mythology, Decaocto was an overworked, underpaid servant girl. The gods heard her prayers for help and changed her into a dove so she could escape her misery. The dove’s call still echoes the mournful cries of her former life.
Introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s, some migrated to Florida in the 1980s. They went unnoticed at first because they look much like the Ringed Turtle-Dove. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that ornithologists realized the suddenly prolific and quickly spreading "turtle-doves" they were watching were actually Eurasian Collared-Doves. Their impact on native species is unknown; some have suggested that their spread represents exploitation of a niche made available by the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon.

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Eurasian Collared-Dove: Native of India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar; also widespread in Europe. Introduced to the Bahamas, spread to Florida, and has increased its range across much of the U.S., into extreme southern Canada and northern Mexico, though largely absent from the northeastern states. May be displacing native doves
 
They are spreading rapidly. I have seen them many times in Arizona and everywhere from Belize to British Columbia. I was told there were none in Belize so I might have been the first to see them there several years ago.
 
Yesterday right at dusk I saw a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves in the trees out back and they are back this morning at the feeder. Maybe they'll stay. This is minor excitement since it's the first "new" birds I've seen on my property in years.

Here is my current "yard" list:

Black-headed Grosbeak (Summer)
Bronzed Cowbird (Summer)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Summer)
Cactus Wren
Canyon Towhee
Cooper's Hawk
Crow/Raven
Curve-billed Thrasher
Desert Cardinal (Pyrrhuloxia)
Desert (Black-throated) Sparrow
Eurasian Collared-Dove (mid-May)
Gambel's Quail
Gila Woodpecker
Greater Roadrunner
Great Horned Owl
Great-tailed Grackle (Summer)
Harris's Hawk
Hooded Oriole (Summer)
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Lesser Nighthawk (Summer)
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Phainopepla
Red-winged Blackbird (Summer)
Rock Pigeon (Rock Dove)
Starling
Turkey Vulture
Verdin
White-throated Sparrow (Winter)
White-winged Dove (Summer)
 
I was in AZ last year, and Eur Collared Dove were fairly frequent in most urban areas I visited. If the UK is anything to go by ( they naturally expanded out of SW Asia / SE Europe in the 1930's and first turned up in the UK in the mid 1950's ) then you should see a rapid rise in numbers then a partial crash before the population stabilises.
 
Except for the striking color difference, they mingle with the other doves just fine. I haven't heard their call yet, at least not in real life. I've heard it online and it is different from both the Mourning Doves and White-Winged Doves.

Most people consider doves a nuisance but I am an equal-opportunity bird feeder because I like all birds. I don't mind if they stay.
 
The pair are different in coloring. One is much lighter and slightly larger. The other is darker -- almost as dark as a Mourning Dove or White-Winged Dove. They both have that black neck collar that goes from one side of their neck around the back of their neck all the way over to the other side. When seen from the front you can just barely see the beginnings of the collar on both sides of their necks. Quite handsome.
 
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A place where I see a good number of them is the Veterans Oasis Park riparian area in southeast Chandler. There is a dairy operation just to the east that is an attractive food source for doves.
 
@BruceH There is a Harris's Hawk that lives somewhere nearby -- he swoops over occasionally and makes a lot of noise. Great lookin' bird though.
 
PumaMan ....There is family of Harris hawks that visit my area multiple times a year. Sometimes they stay for a day or so and sometimes for a couple of weeks. That is one of the family members in my current avatar picture. They sure are neat to watch and like you say, make a lot of noise. Sometimes I will see them on that post having a dove or quail buffet.
 
PumaMan ....There is family of Harris hawks that visit my area multiple times a year. Sometimes they stay for a day or so and sometimes for a couple of weeks. That is one of the family members in my current avatar picture. They sure are neat to watch and like you say, make a lot of noise. Sometimes I will see them on that post having a dove or quail buffet.
Haven't seen (or heard) the Harris's Hawk in quite some time. There is a family of Cooper's Hawks in my neighbor's large pine trees and they swoop by several times a day trying to pick off one of the dozens of birds that hang out at my feeders. The Cooper's Hawks make a lot of racket too -- but different from the Harris's Hawk.
 
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Puma Man:

I have lived in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson for ten years and I have never seen a collared dove at my Feeder. Some local guides say they are not as common in Tucson as in other cities in Arizona (see below). Maybe that is changing?

In Richard Taylor´s "Birds of Southeastern Arizona" he says:

"Status: Fairly common resident. Habitat: Desert and valley farms and small towns; uncommon around Tucson."

Cheers,

A. Gregory
 
Puma Man:

I have lived in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson for ten years and I have never seen a collared dove at my Feeder. Some local guides say they are not as common in Tucson as in other cities in Arizona (see below). Maybe that is changing?

In Richard Taylor´s "Birds of Southeastern Arizona" he says:

"Status: Fairly common resident. Habitat: Desert and valley farms and small towns; uncommon around Tucson."

Cheers,

A. Gregory
When was that book published? Because the publishing date may be quite a bit later than when the text was actually written, and the written text could be later than when the notes were taken.
 
PumaMan

The book was first published in 2010 - I have the 2014 4th printing, but no major changes would be expected between the printings. Given how fast this bird is spreading, you make a good Point.

Cheers,

A. Gregory
 
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