Rare Bird Report 105-B-07

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

RARE BIRD REPORT FORM



SPECIES:  



Eurasian Collared Dove



HOW MANY:



20-30



REPORTER:  



Maggie Springer

211 W. Elm St.

Hailey, Idaho 83333

1-208-788-0139



REPORTER EMAIL:  



JLsmagicmelody@msn.com



OTHER OBSERVERS:



Dan & Julia Springer

1-208-788-0139



Mandi Powers of 

Boise, Idaho



DATE REPORT PREPARED:  



12/23/2007



DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:  



Most recently 12/23/2007



LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:



211 W. Elm St.

Hailey, Idaho  

Blaine County, ID.



HABITAT:



Backyard, pine trees, neighboorhood



CONDITIONS:



I've been watching these birds for about 2 1/2 months.  They came to my yard in the fall prior to snow fall and have been here every day since.



DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:  



No, not at all



DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:  



Yes, another day after the observation



WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:



On 12/22/2007 I emailed Idaho Birds for the first time with the description of the bird.  I recieved a response, same day, from Stacy Jon Peterson of Idahobirds.net



DESCRIPTION:  



These birds are about the same size as a pigeon. They're body is a light gray/tan color. They have long skinny beaks. They have a "half ring" of black on the back of their necks. They're bellies are completely light gray.  Underneath their tail is white.  Underneath their wings is light gray with white at the wing tips.  Their "coo" is very quite and very short. Their heads are round, but skinny. They're slightly stalky. Their tails are just a few inches long, rectangular shaped, with black underneath outlining a white patch. The wing span is quite wide.



BEHAVIOR:  



They've been feeding mainly in my enclosed backyard.  Occasionaly in my front yard or in my drive way.  They are around almost all day long from sun up to late afternoon.  They eat the seed beneath my birdfeeder.  They perch atop my fence and fluff up on cold days where they'll sit for up to an hour at a time.  They seem to stay in my pine trees in my front yard  in the evening hours.  They seem to get along well with all other birds...Stellar Jays, Starlings, Chickadees, small finches, etc.  They all eat together without conflict.  They're only "rival" appears to be the Magpies and occasionally the squirrel that I feed as well.



HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?



My identification is based off of the email response of Stacy Jon Peterson.



HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?



Unfortunately I'm not able to have done a process of elimination.  My assumption was that these were White-winged doves, my identification came from the Idahobirds.net. email.



EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):  



I'm not very familiar with doves... Truthfully I've seen very few in this area ever before.  I've lived here my entire life, 26 years, and this is a first for me.



GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:  



I've always enjoyed birding.  I got into in high school, about ten years ago.  My level of expertise is low, but I enjoy watching, feeding, and photographings all birds.



WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:  



 Photo