- Geopelia humeralis
Identification
26–30 cm (10¼-11¾ in)
- Blue-grey head, neck and upper breast
- Reddish-bronze patch on hindneck, dark barring
- Pinkish bar on the lower breast
- Pale lower body
- Blue-grey eye-ring and reddish eye
Juveniles lack the hindneck patch and barring and tend to be duller overall
Flight
The copper colour of the nape and primaries shows well in flight.
Distribution
Southeast Asia: Indonesia
Australasia: New Guinea, Australia: New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Melanesia
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- G. h. gregalis:
- Lowlands of coastal south-eastern New Guinea
- G. h. humeralis:
- Lowlands of northern and eastern Australia
- G. h. headlandi:
- North-central Western Australia (Pilbara region)
A fourth subspecies, G. h. inexpectata, is not recognised by all authorities[1].
Habitat
Lowland rainforest and mangroves, scrubby bush, beach woodlands, wooded suburban parks and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of seeds of grasses, herbs, sedges, and rhizomes.
Breeding
The nest is a thin platform made from twigs and roots and is placed in dense shrubs or trees. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.
Young doves are fed with 'crop milk'.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Birds in Backyards
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Bar-shouldered Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bar-shouldered_Dove
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
