A suggestion to whom it may concern about Collard Doves:
Stephen has made an interesting point -- at the expense of the domestic
pigeon -- is this always true? Does anyone know any thing about the
life-history of the Collard Dove to enlighten the rest of us? For
example, is the species totally domesticated, dependent upon humans, not
unlikely the Rock Dove? If not, what is its prefered habitat? Perhaps
Glen and Lorne would like to contribute some hard facts to their
arguements?
Cheers, Jim
On Thu, 21 Aug 1997, Stephen Greenfield & Kit Hansen wrote:
> At 09:21 AM 8/22/97 +0000, lorne wrote:
> >... This blast anything feral trip agrivates me... Where's the tangible
> > proof that Collared Doves are ruining things for native birds? ...
>
> (Since most birders are feral, introduced subspecies themselves, it's
> probably out of guilt.)
>
> This topic could turn into a lot of sound and fury... but some random
> observations:
>
> I saw Collared Doves in Florida, USA for the first time this year, and it
> seemed they were surviving mostly at the expense of domestic pigeons. That
> seems quite an improvement, so maybe this particular species is not that big
> a problem.
>
> I would have thought Australians, with your experiences of cats and rabbits,
> would have little sympathy for a feral species that is truly destructive to
> native wildlife...
>
> But control may be necessary even for native species, not only feral ones.
> In North America for example, the Brown-headed Cowbird, a nest parasite, has
> been able to expand its range enormously following forest clearing, and is
> exterminating many species.
>
>
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