Is this a Dusky Turtle Dove or melanistic European? Sudan (1 Viewer)

I saw this bird a couple of weeks ago, at Jebel Aulia Lake just south of Khartoum in Sudan. It looks very like a Dusky Turtle Dove, which is found in South Sudan, but would be the first record for the new boundaries of Sudan, as the south is now a separate country. However, it would be quite a large range extension. Also, it was with European Turtle Doves that had only arrived in the preceding couple of weeks (one photo below shows it with a European Turtle Dove). I am therefore wondering if it could be a partially melanistic European Turtle Dove. My memories of Dusky Turtle Doves in Kenya was that they tended to have one more noticable patch of rufous feathering around the tertials and less on the coverts, whereas this bird seems to have rufous edgings throughout. However, some photos online show Dusky Turtle Dove with this pattern. Also, Dusky Turtle Dove is supposed to show a dark patch on the neck, rather than the stripes of European, though internet photos do show some individuals with dark stripes on a grey background rather than a patch. No dark patch is visible on this bird, but some faint darker stripes are just visible in one photo. The belly is hard to see in these photos, but a terrible blurry photo I took as it flew off does seem to show it as all dark, without the pale belly of European Turtle Dove.
I would appreciate any comments from those familiar with these species.
Thanks

Tom

My brother took this shot of a Dusky TD in Kenya recently. For comparison. It shows the distinct rufous edgings around the tertials. And the dark neck zone.
I think your bird is a rather dark European Turtle Dove.

It's not a Dusky turtle dove IMO. As suggested above the upperparts pattern is wrong, also the primary projection looks quite long. The comparison picture with the other dove is usefull and I feel a Dusky should look noticeably bulkier when seen alongside an ETD.

It's a bit hard to be 100% sure with the images provided, but I think it may just be a dark juv ETD: http://focusingonwildlife.com/news/...ia-and-bahrain/european-turtle-dove-juvenile/

Thanks for the helpful comments. Compared to Phil's photo, my bird does seem to have a long primary projection. Its good to have a clinching feature on a bird like this. I had suspected it was a European, largely because of the birds it was with. However, if I had come across this bird on its own and a few hundred km further south, I would probably have counted it as a Dusky without much thought.

Tom

I'd also go with Tib78, Tom, with regard to it being a young bird. Hence the paucity of neck-marks. And the diminutive size...