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Hi All,
Thanks, Rod and others for the comments (some
individually to me).
I had thought the Spotted Turtle-Doves were a
fairly regular part of the bird community in most of the SE NSW coastal towns
for many years. I know that is really vague but they are much more settled and
common than in Canberra region.
As for Mixed Feeding Flocks; mostly these comprise
small birds, silvereyes, grey fantails, thornbills, finches, robins, etc. They
appear to do this as a predator detection strategy. Many eyes help keep them
safer and each species uses the environment in its own way. The groups maintain
some form of cohesion and move around the habitat together. As bird watchers,
such groups allow us to find many of the local species at the same time. It is
typical during winter. It is mainly (or only) because this is a regular
phenomenon, that it deserves to be given an acronym. As in the acronym exists
because it is an easy handle to a regular piece of bird behaviour, not just
because it is three words in sequence.
I suspect that Spotted Turtle-Doves are not likely
to be part of the typical arrangement as they don't really fit into the social
group of these small birds. In this case the possibility is that Spotted
Turtle-Doves were forming a FM with Crimson Rosellas (and others) it may have
the same function.
Philip
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