Oriental Turtle-Dove

Overview
Oriental Turtle-Dove: Large, stocky dove, buff-brown overall with scaled pattern on back and wings produced by black feathers with buff, gray, or red fringes. Has distinctive black-and-white patch on neck. Tail is long, gray, and white-tipped. Legs are red. Strong swift direct flight.

Range and Habitat
Oriental Turtle-Dove: Native to Siberian taiga, accidental on Vancouver Island, casual to western Aleutians and Bering Sea. Preferred habitats include deciduous and coniferous forests.

The Oriental Turtle-Dove has a large range, extending up to 10,000,000 square kilometers. This bird can be found in a wide range of locations including its native Asia, the Middle East, and United States as well as vagrant populations in parts of Africa and Europe. It is found in an enormous number of habitats including subtropical, tropical and boreal forests and shrublands, urban areas and rural gardens and even marine and aquatic environments as well. The global population of this species has not been quantified, but it is referred to as “common” in portions of its range. Due to this, population trends for the Oriental Turtle-Dove have a present evaluation level of Least Concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
The Oriental Turtle-Dove was first described in 1790 by John Latham, the English physician, naturalist and author. Alternate common names for this species include Rufous Turtle-Dove, Eastern Turtle-Dove, and Mountain Turtle-Dove. A group of doves has many collective nouns, including a "bevy", "cote", "dole", "dule", and "flight" of doves.