Eurasian Collared-Dove

Overview
Eurasian Collared-Dove: Medium dove, pale gray overall with darker cinnamon-brown wash over back. Nape is ringed with half-black collar that does not extend to throat. Wings are mottled gray with dark primaries. Tail is long, broad, edged with white (black near base). Pink legs, feet.

Range and Habitat
Eurasian Collared-Dove: Native of India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar; also widespread in Europe. Introduced to the U.S.; occurs from Florida to Texas, and may be displacing native doves.

The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a terrestrial bird species that has a current rating of Least Concern. This rating was downgraded from a previous rating of Lower Risk in 2000. The range of the Eurasian Collared-Dove is about 10 million square kilometers. The population of this bird species is estimated at possibly 22 million individual birds. This bird species is native to numerous countries throughout the world, particularly in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. At the current time, the range and population of the Eurasian Collared-Dove is sufficient enough for no immediate concern to be warranted.

INTERESTING FACTS
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is one of two species that have been argued to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary Dove. Their scientific name, Streptopeleia decaocto, literally means a collar (streptos) dove (peleia). In Greek mythology, Decaocto was an overworked, underpaid servant girl. The gods heard her prayers for help and changed her into a dove so she could escape her misery. The dove’s call still echoes the mournful cries of her former life. Introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s, some migrated to Florida in the 1980s. They went unnoticed at first because they look much like the Ringed Turtle-Dove. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that ornithologists realized the suddenly prolific and quickly spreading "turtle-doves" they were watching were actually Eurasian Collared-Doves. Their impact on native species is unknown; some have suggested that their spread represents exploitation of a niche made available by the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. A group of doves has many collective nouns, including a "bevy", "cote", "dole", "dule", and "flight" of doves.