Last year in Adelaide I saw a flock of STDs
containing one bird with a crest like a crested pigeon but body markings like
an STD. I assume that this bird was a hybrid.
Tony Connor
-----Original Message-----
From: Geoffrey Dabb
[
Sent: Thursday, 24
August 2006 1:03 PM
To: 'COG-L'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds]
Spotted Turtle-doves (STD)
Lindsay
This is a case where you
need to take a look at HANZAB, but not to leave it hanging in the air, the
information there is, in summary:
1)
chinensis and tigrina
were introduced
2)
pops in most parts of
Aust are intergrades between the 2 ssp
3)
there is a pop in
Innisfail probably descended from t
4)
plumage differences
between ssp are not marked but t has eg cream/offwhite rather than light grey
or grey undertail coverts (!) and ‘less pink on underparts, grading to
cream on lower breast (rather than lower belly), and breast appears slightly
browner’ (!). I doubt that this would be evident in the field.
5)
Size differences are not
marked but c tends to be ‘slightly larger than t in Wing and Tarsus (could not be tested
statistically)’.
It seems unlikely that
you would strike a pure tigrina as far south as Bundaberg. I would think
any smaller-looking bird would just be a young one. Note the marked size
differences in Crested Pigeons, depending on age. g
From: Lindsay
and Rhonda [
Sent: Thursday,
August 24, 2006 11:40 AM
To: COG-L
Subject: [canberrabirds] Spotted
Turtle-doves (STD)
Slater’s Field Guide indicates
that two forms of STD were introduced to Australia: the large
Chinese form (race chinesis) and
the small South-East Asian form (race tigrina)
with a pale shoulder patch. During our recent trip to Queensland we
encountered many STD’s particularly around coastal towns such as
Bundaberg. It was in Bundaberg we came across one that was quite
different looking to the “normal” STD. It was larger and with
a much longer tail but also featured a light shoulder patch. I have
enclose photos of this bird and the “normal” STD for
comparison. Can anyone explain the difference? Are these examples
of the two races or is the larger bird a hybrid (Slater notes that the two have
hybridised in some areas or could they hybridise with other pigeons or doves)?
Lindsay Hansch
