Spotted Dove
Encyclopedia
The Spotted Dove also known as the Spotted Turtle Dove, is a pigeon
which is a resident breeding bird in the Indian Subcontinent
including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka east to southern Tibet
and Southeast Asia
. It is also known as the Chinese Dove, Mountain Dove, or Lace-necked Dove.
As it possesses numeous apomorphies separating it from the "typical" turtle- and collared doves (Streptopelia
sensu stricto), it is here separated in the genus proposed for it, Spilopelia. DNA sequence
data is quite in line with such a treatment, but would favor including the Spotted Dove's closest living relative (Laughing Dove
, S. senegalensis) in Spilopelia also. While these two species are each rather autapomorphic in appearance, their behavior and molecular data support treating them as a small and distinct genus, perhaps originating on the northern Mascarene Plateau
(now submerged) or in in the lands around the northern Arabian Sea
, which regions are between their present-day ranges.
and Southern California
. Other countries it has been introduced to include Singapore
, the Philippines
, northern Indonesia
, Bangladesh
, Australia and New Zealand
. In Australia, it was introduced in Melbourne
in the 1860s and has since spread, often replacing native doves. In Australia, they are now found in streets
, parks, gardens, agricultural areas and tropical scrubs, from Hobart, Tasmania, to Cooktown, Queensland
, to Port Lincoln, South Australia
. They can also be seen in Perth
, Pemberton
, Kalgoorlie
and Esperance
, in Western Australia
. The species' range is expanding.
s. Like most pigeons, spotted doves appear to mate for life and share some parental duties, including feeding infants 'pigeons' milk' which both parents produce in the crop. When fledged, young are darker than juveniles. In Hawaii, they breed all year round, as do all three other introduced species of doves. In southern Australia, they breed mostly from September to January, and in the north in Autumn. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of doves in general.
Spotted Dove is long-tailed and slim,ranging in length from 28 to 32 centimetres (11.2 to 12.8 inches). Its back, wing
s and tail
are pale brown and buff. In flight, it shows blackish flight feather
s bordered on the inner edge with pale grey, and a flash of white tail feather on either side. Sexes are similar, but juveniles
are duller than adults and do not acquire the neck spots until they are mature. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to pale grey on the face and lower belly. There is a charachteristic black neck patch finely spotted with white. The leg
s are dark pink.
_on_a_kapok_(ceiba_pentandra)_tree_in_kolkata_w_img_3476.jpg)
The call is a low and gentle two or three syllable coo-coo-croo, with the emphasis on last note. The call occasionally is "coo-coo krrroo, krook!"
s, grain
s and other vegetation. They are fairly terrestrial, foraging on the ground in grasslands and cultivation. There have been some reports of eating insects. In climates such as Hawaii, it breeds all year round, with nests commonly found in trees, edges of buildings or even on the ground. There, it lives in close association with housing, parks and other human activities, primarily because of associated seed-bearing landscaping from introduced vegetation, and irrigation.
Like some other doves in this genus
, they are not particularly gregarious, and are usually alone, or in pairs. It is calm, but leery of humans and other animals. In mixed flocks of pigeons, spotted doves and zebra doves, the spotted doves will be the last to come to the food source and will occupy the extreme outer edge of the group; they will be the first to flush to flight due to any noise, motion, or unease. Flight patterns are similar to the Crested Pigeon
. Upon landing, birds tilt their tail upwards. Males on display obtain a steep angle and circle down displaying their wings and tail by spreading them out. Like pigeons and other doves, males typically follow their mates with coos and calls throughout the day.
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
which is a resident breeding bird in the Indian Subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka east to southern Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. It is also known as the Chinese Dove, Mountain Dove, or Lace-necked Dove.
As it possesses numeous apomorphies separating it from the "typical" turtle- and collared doves (Streptopelia
Streptopelia
Streptopelia is a genus of birds in the dove family. These are mainly slim, small to medium-sized species. The upperparts tend to be pale brown, and the underparts are often a shade of pink. Many have a characteristic black-and-white patch on the neck, and monotonous cooing songs.The heartland of...
sensu stricto), it is here separated in the genus proposed for it, Spilopelia. DNA sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
data is quite in line with such a treatment, but would favor including the Spotted Dove's closest living relative (Laughing Dove
Laughing Dove
The Laughing Dove is a small pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in the tropics in Africa south of the Sahara, the Middle East and southern Asia east to India. In India it is also known as the Little Brown Dove...
, S. senegalensis) in Spilopelia also. While these two species are each rather autapomorphic in appearance, their behavior and molecular data support treating them as a small and distinct genus, perhaps originating on the northern Mascarene Plateau
Mascarene Plateau
The Mascarene Plateau is an submarine plateau in the Indian Ocean, north and east of Madagascar. The plateau extends approximately 2000 km, from the Seychelles in the north to Réunion in the south. The plateau covers an area of over 115,000 km² of shallow water, with depths ranging from...
(now submerged) or in in the lands around the northern Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
, which regions are between their present-day ranges.
Range
It is a widespread species in open woodland, farmland and habitation over a good deal of its natural range, and this successful bird has also been introduced to the U.S. to HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. Other countries it has been introduced to include Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, northern Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. In Australia, it was introduced in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in the 1860s and has since spread, often replacing native doves. In Australia, they are now found in streets
Streets
Streets are the plural of street, a type of road.Streets or The Streets may also refer to:* The Streets, alias of Mike Skinner, a British rapper* Streets , a rock band fronted by Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh...
, parks, gardens, agricultural areas and tropical scrubs, from Hobart, Tasmania, to Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown is a small town located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. At the 2006 census, Cooktown had a population of 1,336...
, to Port Lincoln, South Australia
Port Lincoln, South Australia
- Transport :Port Lincoln is the port for the isolated narrow gauge Eyre Peninsular Railway.There is also a subsidiary port at Proper Bay which may be restored to use for iron ore traffic. The export of iron ore through Port Lincoln has been approved by the South Australian Government. Port...
. They can also be seen in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Pemberton
Pemberton, Western Australia
Pemberton is a town located in the South West region of Western Australia, named after the early settler Pemberton Walcott. It is the home of the karri tree, the largest tree in Western Australia and the third largest hardwood tree in the world...
, Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
and Esperance
Esperance, Western Australia
Esperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The shire of Esperance is home to 9,536 people as of the 2006 census, its major industries are tourism, agriculture,...
, in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The species' range is expanding.
Characteristic
This species builds a very simple stick nest and lays two white, glossy eggEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s. Like most pigeons, spotted doves appear to mate for life and share some parental duties, including feeding infants 'pigeons' milk' which both parents produce in the crop. When fledged, young are darker than juveniles. In Hawaii, they breed all year round, as do all three other introduced species of doves. In southern Australia, they breed mostly from September to January, and in the north in Autumn. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of doves in general.
Spotted Dove is long-tailed and slim,ranging in length from 28 to 32 centimetres (11.2 to 12.8 inches). Its back, wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
s and tail
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...
are pale brown and buff. In flight, it shows blackish flight feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s bordered on the inner edge with pale grey, and a flash of white tail feather on either side. Sexes are similar, but juveniles
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
are duller than adults and do not acquire the neck spots until they are mature. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to pale grey on the face and lower belly. There is a charachteristic black neck patch finely spotted with white. The leg
Leg
Łęg may refer to the following places in Poland:*A former name for the town of Ełk *Part of the Czyżyny district of Kraków*Łęg, Pleszew County in Greater Poland Voivodeship...
s are dark pink.
Behaviour
Spotted Doves eat grass seedSeed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s and other vegetation. They are fairly terrestrial, foraging on the ground in grasslands and cultivation. There have been some reports of eating insects. In climates such as Hawaii, it breeds all year round, with nests commonly found in trees, edges of buildings or even on the ground. There, it lives in close association with housing, parks and other human activities, primarily because of associated seed-bearing landscaping from introduced vegetation, and irrigation.
Like some other doves in this genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, they are not particularly gregarious, and are usually alone, or in pairs. It is calm, but leery of humans and other animals. In mixed flocks of pigeons, spotted doves and zebra doves, the spotted doves will be the last to come to the food source and will occupy the extreme outer edge of the group; they will be the first to flush to flight due to any noise, motion, or unease. Flight patterns are similar to the Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
The Crested Pigeon is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for far tropical north areas. It is the only member of the genus Ocyphaps.There are only two Australian pigeon species that possess an erect crest, being the Crested Pigeon and the Spinifex Pigeon...
. Upon landing, birds tilt their tail upwards. Males on display obtain a steep angle and circle down displaying their wings and tail by spreading them out. Like pigeons and other doves, males typically follow their mates with coos and calls throughout the day.