During her regular monthly BFS bird survey on July 4, Prof. Cathy McFadden spotted a new addition to the BFS Bird List – three Eurasian Collared-Doves, Streptopelia decaocto, flying over the HMC property, possibly coming out of the old toad pool area.
Originally native to India, Eurasian Collared-Doves spread into Turkey and the Balkans in the 1600s and expanded across Europe in the 1900s. They were introduced into the Bahamas in the mid-1970s and are now established in the southeastern states. They have been expanding across the U.S., and in the last few years, they’ve have made it into most parts of Southern California. They were first reported in south Claremont earlier this year, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they made it to BFS. It will be interesting to see if they establish within BFS – they seem to like urban areas.
A Eurasian Collared-Dove in India. Photo by Dr. Lloyd Glenn Ingles © California Academy of Sciences.
Eurasian Collared-Doves are large doves that are a very pale cream color with a black half-collar on the back of the neck. Compared to other doves and pigeons seen at the BFS, they are a much lighter color than the Band-tailed Pigeons and are considerably larger than Mourning Doves.
If you spot any Eurasian Collared-Doves at the BFS, please notify the Manager (Jennifer_Gee@cuc.claremont.edu).