Eurasian collared dove

The Eurasian collared dove, known scientifically as Streptopelia decaocto, is a medium-sized bird species.

It is native to parts of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. This species is famous for being a powerful colonizer. This means they are very good at moving into new territories and staying there. They have successfully expanded their range into Japan, the Caribbean, and North America. Understanding these birds helps scientists study how species spread across the globe.

Physically, the dove has several distinct features. The body is a grey-buff or pinkish-grey color. It is darker on the top than on the bottom. One notable feature is a blue-grey patch on the underwing. The most famous mark is a black half-collar on the nape, or back of the neck. This collar has a thin white edge.

The bird has a black bill and red legs. While the iris is actually red, the eyes often look black from a distance. This happens because the pupil is large, leaving only a thin rim of red visible.

There are specific differences between adults and young birds. Juveniles are slightly different because their collar is not fully developed. They also have a brown iris instead of a red one.

Some subspecies also show different colors. For example, the subspecies S. d. xanthocycla has yellow eye-rings instead of white. It also has darker grey on its head. The Eurasian collared dove is also part of a superspecies. This group includes the Sunda collared dove and the African collared dove. You can tell them apart by their calls. The African species makes a soft purring sound, while the Eurasian species has a three-note coo.

History tells us a lot about how we named this bird. The Hungarian naturalist Imre Frivaldszky first described the species in 1838. He initially thought it was a wild variety of the domesticated barbary dove. The type locality, or the place where it was first identified, is Plovdiv in Bulgaria. In 1855, the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte described the genus Streptopelia. The specific name decaocto comes from the Greek word for eighteen. This relates to a Greek myth about a maid who was paid only 18 silver coins. Legend says the bird's call sounds like the word for eighteen.

This bird is an incredible traveler. In the 19th century, its range was mostly in warm Asia and Turkey. Since then, it has spread rapidly. It reached Germany in 1945 and Great Britain by 1953. In North America, the spread was even faster. In 1974, fewer than 50 birds escaped captivity in the Bahamas. They quickly moved to Florida and then across the United States. In Arkansas, they spread across 42 counties. They moved through the state at a rate of 12 miles per year. This was more than double the rate seen in Europe.

Eurasian collared doves have unique behaviors and social lives. They are monogamous, meaning they stay with one partner. They share the work of raising their young. The female lays two white eggs in a nest made of sticks.

She incubates the eggs at night, and the male takes over during the day. The eggs usually hatch in 14 to 18 days. These birds are very social and live in large flocks. While most flocks have 10 to 50 birds, some groups have reached 10,000 members. They often gather near farms to eat grain, seeds, and insects.

Because they live so close to people, they can impact local ecosystems. They are known to be aggressive competitors for food. They can also carry parasites like Trichomonas gallinae. They might also carry pigeon paramyxovirus type 1. This virus can spread to native birds at shared feeders. It can even affect domestic poultry. This makes the dove a concern for both nature and farmers. However, in places where they have lived a long time, like Florida, their population growth has slowed down. This shows how bird populations change as they settle into new homes.