Rare Bird Record #: 2-B-07

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:

Eurasian Collared-Dove

HOW MANY:

15 on 1/6/07 and 4-6 on 1/7/07

REPORTER:

David E. Lawrence
15 S. Cobblestone Court
Nampa, ID 83651
208-442-3058 home
208-250-1055 cell

REPORTER EMAIL:

lawde13@cableone.net

OTHER OBSERVERS:

Paula Lawrence
15 S. Cobblestone Court
Nampa, ID 83651
208-442-3058 home

DATE REPORT PREPARED:

1-7-2007

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:

1-6-2007 and 1-7-2007

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:

Owyhee County, Idaho
6.25 miles south of Marsing on Hwy 78. Birds flew from north roadside across the hwy to some farm fencing on the south side of the hwy.

HABITAT:

rural residential, agriculture 1/3 mile south of Snake River

CONDITIONS:

On 1/6 we watched the birds from approximately 3:50 - 4:15pm The temperature was in the mid 30's and the skies were about 60% clouded with generous amounts of sunshine penetrating the clouds. Wind was about 5mph. We observed the birds sitting on some wooden fencing in a barnyard. We were approximately 50-60 feet from the birds and were using 10x42 binoculars. I returned on 1/7/07 at about 10am. The tempertures were in the upper 20's and the sun was shining brightly. Wind was 5-10 mph. I noted that the field across the road from the birds was corn stubble. I found the birds perched on a phone wire about 100 yards from where they were on Saturday. They flew to a small stand of long-needled pine trees. The tempertures and wind caused the visit to be short. However, I sat in the car and watched until 4-5 of the birds flew to a wooden fence about 50 yards away. Then I photo'd them with a Pentax digital slr with 600mm lens. Photos are not ideal but do show some diagnostic features.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:

No, not at all

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:

Yes, later the same day

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

Nat'l Geo. Third Edition Field Guide Birds of North America
Sibley Guide to Birds 1st edition

DESCRIPTION:

These doves immediately stood out as being much lighter in color than the typical Mourning Doves. This is what caused me to brake from 55 mph to turn around and go back for another look. The birds all clearly showed the narrow black half-ring collar at the base and back of the neck. The tails were not as pointed as I'm used to seeing on mourning doves. The bodies looked fuller and more plump than mourning doves. After looking at the references shown above on Sat. night, I returned on Sunday morning and made a point of checking the undertail plumage for the dark web detailed in Sibley's,this was done to eliminate possible escaped or "pet" Ringed Turtle-Dove.

BEHAVIOR:

These birds were originally on the gravel roadside or at the edge of the corn stubble field presumeably ground feeding as doves do. After leaving the roadside on Saturday they were only observed perching on the fence. On Sunday, I also observed them dropping out of the pine trees to the ground and "grazing" on the ground.

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

I had previously seen and observed (in 2006) a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves that were found in Caldwell, Canyon County, ID I was confident of my identification immediately on seeing the black collar. However, after looking at the Sibley guide, I wanted to return and check the web in the tail to completely rule out the Ringed Turtle-Dove. I was able to do that on Sunday morning.

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

Ruled out Mourning Dove by color, size and tail shape. There were Mourning Doves nearby for immediate comparison. Ruled out Ringed Turtle-Dove by observing the dark webbing in the tail.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):

I had one previous sighting of this species as noted above.
Mourning Doves are seen almost daily.

The property owner said they first noted the light colored doves several months ago. Initially he said there were only 2 and then eventually several more. He commented that he most often observed them in the evenings.

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:

I have been birding for about 16 years and consider myself to be an intermediate to advanced birder, but by no means and expert.

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

Photos
________________________

These pictures are less than ideal, but I think they do show some diagnostic features. The collar is visible on several of the birds in both shots. In the first photo, the bird on the right-hand end shows both the collar and the dark undertail webbing. I believe the photos also show the plumper/fuller body than is normal with Mourning Doves. Unfortunately, the lighting does not give the full effect of the light color as compared to Mourning Doves.

Dave Lawrence
lawde13@cableone.net
Nampa, ID 83651