Ring-Necked Dove (2 Viewers)

[AlanGino]

I live in Central Arkansas, USA and twice yesterday I saw what appeared to be a Ring-Necked Dove in my backyard. Unfortunately I have not been able to get a photograph as of yet but hope to in the next day or two....assuming of course it returns. I have lots of Mourning Doves around but this dove was seemingly a bit larger and lighter in color with the only marking being a black, thin, half-circle around its neck.

But.....based on what I have read, this bird is native to Africa and so I am wondering if that is the case and they are not native to America, if I may be seeing a "pet" that has been released to the wild. Or is their a known population of these doves in the USA?

Thanks for your comments..... |=)|

 

[j0hnguy]

Eurasian Collared Doves are an introduced species already established in the southern US, and their range is expanding northward. The Ringed turtle dove is a similar bird commonly kept in aviculture. I would suggest looking up those two birds to see which better fits what you saw. I would wager it was probably the Eurasian Collared.

Cheers

 

[Gentoo]

I'd agree with johnguy that it was most likely the larger Eurasian Collard Dove. The "Ring-Necked Dove" or Ringed-Turtle Dove is a domestic variant of the African Collared Dove. The only known established population is in downtown Los Angeles.

 

[AlanGino]

Thanks a lot j0hnguy and Gentoo for your responses.

It certainly would appear that I have seen the Eurasian Collard. I will certainly keep my eyes peeled and see if I can get a photo.

Again....Thanks! :t:

 

[AlanGino]

Well I finally got an opportunity to get a photo of the dove in question yesterday which I am posting. It does appear to be the suggested Eurasian Collared Dove. Any comments contrary to that ID are welcome.

They are much more wary and skittish than the Mourning Dove. I had a few opportunities to photograph one earlier but the slightest movement and they are gone.

 

[Scrogdog]

Well I finally got an opportunity to get a photo of the dove in question yesterday which I am posting. It does appear to be the suggested Eurasian Collared Dove. Any comments contrary to that ID are welcome.

They are much more wary and skittish than the Mourning Dove. I had a few opportunities to photograph one earlier but the slightest movement and they are gone.

Definitely a Eurasian Collared Dove. They are getting to be fairly common in North Central Texas where I live. Not sure how far they have expanded their range since being introduced into Florida several years ago.

 

[Gentoo]

Dark primaries make this a Eurasian Collared Dove for sure.

They're apparently spreading in southern California as well but I have yet to see them in San Diego or outside of Los Angeles.

 

[chris butterworth]

Def. A Eur. Collared Dove. I had no idea that they are spreading as much in the States, I'm old enough to remember when I saw my first one in 1961 (and they were almost mega-rare in the UK then.)
Chris

 

[AlanGino]

I contacted the Audubon Society of Arkansas yesterday just out of curiosity and they said that the Eurasian Collared Dove was declared a year-round resident of Arkansas in 1986. Last year was the first year I actually saw one for the first time and realized I wasn't seeing a Mourning Dove.

 

[ovenbird43]

Yep, they're pretty common around most of Arkansas. They've spread through North America amazingly rapidly, quickly outstripping the range maps in the field guides. I saw a few in Oregon last year, and many in Tucson a few weeks ago.

 

[fugl]

Situation's the same in Nevada. A few years ago Eurasian Collared Doves were rare or unknown in most of the state, but now they're seen regularly everywhere. They favor suburban/quasi-urban settings, & I frequently spot them from the car while driving through the small towns. The first one turned up in Reno in 2003. I haven't been able to tick the species as a yard bird yet but there's a small population in the immediate neighborhood & it's just a matter of time.

 

[fugl]

Amazingly enough, I had my first Eurasian Collared Dove as a yard bird this evening, just 36 hours or so after my previous post (#11) predicting I'd been seeing it soon. Not exactly a self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess, but still pretty impressive. When I left the yard a few minutes ago the dove was "cu-cu-cuking" away, sounds I suspect I'll soon become very familiar with.

 

[Microtus]

The Eurasian Collared-Dove wasn't even identified as being common in Florida until 1986. I can't see how it would have been declared a year-round resident in Arkansas in that year; it didn't even reach Texas until 1995. Whoever told you that about Arkansas appears a little mixed up. Nevertheless, it continues to spread; a bird was seen in southern Yukon last summer!

 

[AlanGino]

The Eurasian Collared-Dove wasn't even identified as being common in Florida until 1986. I can't see how it would have been declared a year-round resident in Arkansas in that year; it didn't even reach Texas until 1995. Whoever told you that about Arkansas appears a little mixed up. Nevertheless, it continues to spread; a bird was seen in southern Yukon last summer!

Thanks for your comment and input Microtus. Admittedly I had to give them credit for knowing what they were talking about but it definitely struck me odd that it took me until last year to every observe my first one - some 23 three years. When he told me that I did question him as to why the Arkansas Game & Fish Commision did not show them in their resident bird booklet and he inferred their booklet only showed the more popular birds residing in the state. I'll have to see if I can get a hold of the AGFC orinthologist for some better information....thanks again for your input!

 

[Gentoo]

I'm still waiting for them to invade San Diego. They're in the desert in neighboring Imperial County and a separate introduction, independent from the one that spreading across the US now, is on the central California coast They seem to be preading more slowly in California, probably due to the mountainous terrain but spreading nonetheless.

 

[AlanGino]

In a brief conversation with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission they no longer have an Ornithologist position within the organization but the individual I spoke with was very skeptical of the information I had obtained from the Arkansas Audubon Society.

In an effort to try and pin down a more definitive date I ran across an "Oklahoma Ornithology Report" that notes the “first” Eurasian Collared Dove seen in Arkansas was in 1989. I have attached a copy of that report and highlighted a couple of sections of interest.

It was also interesting to find with regard to dove hunting in Arkansas that of the three species of doves hunted here, the Eurasian is the only one they have not put a limit on. This would lead one to draw conclusion that there is either an over-population or perhaps considered undesirable. I suspect it might be the latter. I read elsewhere that if large populations of these doves are established, they can adversely affect the native dove population.

The bag limit for the 2008-2009 dove hunting season in Arkansas is 15 birds daily and the possession limit is 30 birds, except for Eurasian Collared-dove, which have no limit. But, hunters who take Eurasian Collared-dove must leave them fully feathered until they are transported from the field where they were harvested.

I have also attached a "California Fish and Game Commission Statement" dealing with among other things, the Eurasian Collared Dove and their deliberation on limits for their dove hunting seasons. Again I have highlighted items of interest.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

They've made it north to PA. Two confirmed nestings, two probable nestings, and ten possibles, with all but one along the southern tier of the state.

 

[KC Foggin]

I had one land in the yard last week. New for the yard and how appropriate it should perch on the non-native Mimosa Tree.

 

[Microtus]

I constantly run into collared-doves when I am in the south and the southwest. But up here in Maryland they are still somewhat exciting news. No nestings yet though.

 

[catmadden]

I live in California and have both the Eurasian Collered Dove and the African Collered Dove come to my yard. I have fairly large flocks here ( as many as 30 or more in mixed flock). The main difference I see between them is that the African has a pinkish cast to it's sides and the Eurasian's is greyish. I did some research and found that they came to this country by way of immigrants bringing them for releasing at weddings and such. Luckily for us they seem to have slipped right into a niche left open by the extinction of 2 native doves so do not seem to be doing any harm like other introduced species.
They are beautiful birds and I hope you enjoy them... They are often mistaken for Turtle Doves which are much smaller.