Oriental Turtle Dove

Oriental Turtle Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Streptopelia
Species: S. orientalis
Binomial name
Streptopelia orientalis
(Latham, 1790)

The Oriental Turtle Dove or Rufous Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, doves and pigeons.

Contents

Names

Both the names Oriental Turtle Dove or Rufous Turtle Dove have been used for this species. It has been suggested that the name Rufous Turtle Dove should be used for the western form meena, and Oriental Turtle Dove for the nominate orientalis.

Taxonomy

Oriental Turtle Dove has two distinct migratory northern races, S. o. orientalis in the central Siberian taiga, and S. o. meena in open woodland in central Asia. There are also two non-migratory southern races. Two other races have been described from East Asian islands.

Morphology

This small species is very similar in plumage to its European counterpart, the Turtle Dove. It is a little larger than that species, particularly in the case of orientalis, about the same size as a Collared Dove. It shares the black and white striped patch on the side of its neck, but the breast is less pink, and the orange-brown wing feathers of Turtle Dove are replaced with a browner hue, and darker centres. The tail is wedge shaped, like the Turtle Dove. The flight is more relaxed and direct than that of its relative.

Differences between the forms orientalis and meena

Differences in the pattern of the tail in the forms S. o. orientalis and S. o. meena have been widely reported (orientalis having a grey tip to the tail and more black in the outer web of the outer tail-feathers, meena having a white tip to its tail like Turtle Dove and less black in the outer web of the outer tail-feathers). However, these are not consistent differences: both forms can have white or grey tail-bands, and orientalis can have little black in the outer webs of the outer tail-feathers.[2]

Vocalisations

The call is quite different from the purr of the Turtle Dove. It is a four-syllable her-her-oo-oo.

Status and distribution

The westernmost race, meena, breeds just into the Western Palearctic region.[3]

Southernmost populations are resident, but most other birds migrate south to winter in Pakistan and India, southeast Asia, and southern Japan.

Vagrancy

This species is a rare vagrant to northern and western Europe. A 1986 review by Erik Hirschfeld in Dutch Birding listed around 30 records, mostly in autumn and winter.[4] Prior to this, it had been suggested that European records referred to escapes from captivity, because of their tameness, the distance from the species' normal breeding range, the suburban habitat of many of the records, and their winter timing; Hirschfeld presented counter-arguments to all these points, and today it is generally accepted that most if not all Rufous Turtle Doves in Europe are wild birds.

In 1994, the British Birds Rarities Committee reviewed the British records of this species and concluded that three of the eight accepted records should no longer stand.[5] Oriental Turtle Dove has occurred a number of times since, including a well-watched bird in Oxfordshire in February 2011, which was found in a birdwatcher's garden. The house owner used the opportunity to charge a £5 fee to view the bird from his kitchen window and up to 500 people queued to see the bird.[6]

S. o. orientalis occurs as a rarity in western Alaska and British Columbia.

Breeding biology

Two white eggs, as for all pigeons and doves, are laid in a twig nest in a tree.

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Streptopelia orientalis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  2. ^ Leader, Paul J. (2004) Tail pattern of Oriental Turtle Dove British Birds 97(2): 98-100
  3. ^ Wilson, Michael G. and Vadim A. Korovin (2003) Oriental Turtle Dove breeding in the Western Palearctic British Birds 96(5): 234-241
  4. ^ Hirschfeld, Erik (1986) Rufous Turtle Dove in Europe Dutch Birding 8(3): 77-84
  5. ^ * , p. 536 in Rogers, Michael J. and the Rarities Committee (1994) Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 1993 (PDF) British Birds 87(11): 503–71
  6. ^ http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Birdwatchers-Queue-And-Pay-To-See-Rare-Oriental-Turtle-Dove-In-Twitchers-Back-Garden/Article/201102315932885?lpos=Strange_News_First_Strange_News__Article_Teaser_Region__0&lid=ARTICLE_15932885_Birdwatchers_Queue_And_Pay_To_See_Rare_Oriental_Turtle_Dove_In_Twitchers_Back_Garden

Bibliography

  • "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN
  • Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN


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