Tweeters and Yakkers,

I couldn't stand the excitement any longer, so I drove to Yakima to see the
Dove in question. I was there about two hours and was graced with a five to
ten minute look at the Dove from the side yard of the lady who is feeding
the birds (sorry, I forgot her name, but she is very hospitable and excited
about the bird).

The only experience I have with the Eurasian Collered Dove is a one day trip
to see them at Grand Isle in Louisiana just last week and I have virtually
no experience with Ringed Turtle Doves.

My first impression of the Yakima bird is that it was very white looking
compared to the grayer tones I remember from the LA birds (this could just
be a situation of better light). Also, the primaries were not as dark as I
remember on the LA Doves and I agree with Denny's obsevation that the
coverts looked white, although I did think I saw a small flash of black near
the coverts when the Dove flared to land. Unfortunately I was unable to get
any photos, as I was looking through the fence.

I don't know if these observations will help with an ID or not, but it sure
is a great way to learn to become more observant and sharpen my field note
taking skills.

Kerry Turley
Sunnyside, WA
kdturley at bentonrea.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Stepniewski <steppie at nwinfo.net>
To: TWEETERS <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Cc: BIRDYAK <BirdYak at yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sunday, June 10, 2001 8:09 AM
Subject: [BirdYak] Eurasian Collared Dove


>Tweeters and Yakkers,
>
>There are 2 recent artuicles with good color photographs illustrating
>separation of Eurasian from Ringed Turtle Dove: American Birds
41:1370-1379,
>and North American Birds 53: 348-353. I will try to visit the feeding
>station again today and "take another look," focusing in on relative size,
>primary contrast in the folded wing, pattern of upper wing in flight,
>undertail covert coloration, pattern of undertail feathers. Since color
>distinction of Ringed Turtle Dove is judged "variable" in one paper, I will
>endeavor to downplay plumage color, which appear much more akin to all
>Eurasian Collared Dove photos than Ringed.
>
>Work in progress!
>
>Andy Stepniewski
>Wapato WA
>steppie at nwinfo.net
>
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>birdyak-unsubscribe at egroups.com
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>