According to the Parks and Wildlife information sheet on feral doves the
Alice Springs birds are Streptopelia risoria.
In referring to "boring, anti-feral idiots" you sound much like the
gentlemen of the 19th century Acclimatisation Societies whose efforts gave
us starlings and other feral pests. These doves are a pest.
Parks and Wildlife have started a program to eradicate both Spotted
Turtle-doves and Barbary Doves. I am afraid they may have left it too late
as there are an estimated 5000 doves, resulting from the release of 10, 8
years ago (from Parks and Wildlife Information Sheet). Many residents are
happy to let the doves nest in their gardens, and I have reports of them
breeding several times a year.
What is so exciting about seeing a half-tame pest-bird that boldly forages
in gardens and perches on television aerials and power lines?
One plus is that I have never seen the Barbary Doves outside the urban area,
although the Spotted Turtle-doves are often forage 100 m into bushland and
occasionally 500 m.
Robert Read
Alice Springs
> One problem: the taxonomy. "Barbary Doves" aka "Ringed
> Turtle-doves" are not Streptopelia decaocto - the (Eurasian)
> Collared Dove. Barbary Doves have been named S. risoria but
> there are views that it is no more than a domesticated form of
> the African Collared-Dove (S. rosogrisea)and should not have a
> separate species name.
>
> The best reference on this that I've found on the web is at:
> http://home.xnet.com/~ugeiser/Birds/Streptopelia.html
> which includes links to photos and a list of diagnostics (eg.
> mainly dark outer tail feathers on S. decaocto, mainly white on
> S. 'risoria').
>
> Hoping no boring, anti-feral idiots get the authorities to deal
> with these birds before we all have a chance for a megatick ! It
> could even be two megaticks if some of the birds are really the
> spectacularly successful S. decaocto which spread from Iraq to
> Iceland in 60 years.
>
> Michael Norris
>
>
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