spotted dove
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Spotted dove at vadodara.jpg
|image_caption = Spilopelia chinensis suratensis
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|genus = Spilopelia
|species = chinensis
|authority = (Scopoli, 1786)
|synonyms =
- Streptopelia chinensis
- Stigmatopelia chinensis
- Turtur suratensis
|subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
|subdivision = See text
}}
The spotted dove or eastern spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) is a small and somewhat long-tailed pigeon that is a common resident breeding bird across its native range on the Indian subcontinent and in East and Southeast Asia. The species has been introduced to many parts of the world and feral populations have become established.
This species was formerly included in the genus Streptopelia with other turtle-doves, but studies suggest that they differ from typical members of that genus. This dove is long tailed buff brown with a white-spotted black collar patch on the back and sides of the neck. The tail tips are white and the wing coverts have light buff spots.
There are considerable plumage variations across populations within its wide range. The species is found in light forests and gardens as well as in urban areas. They fly from the ground with an explosive flutter and will sometimes glide down to a perch. It is also called the mountain dove, pearl-necked dove, lace-necked dove, and spotted turtle-dove.
Taxonomy
The spotted dove was formally described in 1786 by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli and given the binomial name Columba chinensis.{{ cite book | last=Scopoli | first=Giovanni Antonio | author-link=Giovanni Antonio Scopoli | year=1786 | title=Deliciae florae faunae insubricae, seu Novae, aut minus cognitae species plantarum et animalium quas in Insubica austriaca tam spontaneas, quam exoticas vidit | language=la | volume=2 | location=Ticini [Pavia] | publisher=Typographia Reg. & Imp. Monasterii S. Salvatoris | page=94 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eAxJAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA94 }} Scopoli based his account on "La tourterelle gris de la Chine" that had been described and illustrated in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat in the second volume of his book Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine.{{ cite book | last=Sonnerat | first=Pierre | author-link=Pierre Sonnerat | date=1782 | title=Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine, fait par ordre du Roi, depuis 1774 jusqu'en 1782 | volume=2 | language=French | location=Paris | publisher=Chez l'Auteur | pages=176-177, Plate 102 | url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15182388/f241.item }} This species was formerly included in the genus Streptopelia.{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1937 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=3 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=98 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14477813 }} A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2001 found the genus was paraphyletic with respect to Columba.{{cite journal| last1=Johnson | first1=K.P. | last2=De Kort | first2=S | last3=Dinwoodey | first3=K. | last4=Mateman | first4=A.C. | last5=Ten Cate | first5=C. | last6=Lessells | first6=C.M. | last7=Clayton | first7=D.H. | year=2001| journal=Auk| volume=118 |title=A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba| issue=4 | pages=874–887 | doi=10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118[0874:AMPOTD]2.0.CO;2 | doi-access=free | url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/p00874-p00887.pdf }} To create monophyletic genera the spotted dove as well as the closely related laughing dove were moved to the resurrected genus Spilopelia that had been introduced by the Swedish zoologist Carl Sundevall in 1873. Sundevall had designated Columba tigrina as the type species, a taxon that is now considered a subspecies of the spotted dove.{{cite book |last=Sundevall | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Jakob Sundevall | title=Methodi naturalis avium disponendarum tentamen. Försök till fogelklassens naturenliga uppställnung | language=la | year= 1872 | publisher=Samson and Wallin| place=Stockholm | pages=100, 186 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52164515}} Although the title page in dated 1872, the part containing pages 100 and 186 was published in 1873.
Several subspecies have been proposed for the plumage and size variation seen in different geographic populations. The nominate form is from China (Canton), which is also the origin of the introduced population in Hawaii. Subspecies formosa from Taiwan has been considered as doubtful and indistinguishable from the nominate population. The population in India suratensis (type locality Surat) and ceylonensis from Sri Lanka have fine rufous or buff spots on the back. There is a size reduction trend with specimens from southern India being smaller, and ceylonensis may merely be a part of this cline. The lesser and median wing-coverts are also spotted at the tip in buff.{{cite book|title=The Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 5| year=1928|author=Baker, ECS| pages=241–245| publisher=Taylor and Francis| place= London| url= https://archive.org/stream/BakerFbiBirds5/BakerFBI5#page/n261/mode/1up}} This spotting is lacking on populations further north and east of India, such as tigrina, which also differ greatly in vocalizations from the Indian forms. The population from Hainan Island is placed in hainana. Others like vacillans (=chinensis) and forresti (= tigrina) and edwardi (from Chabua = suratensis) have been considered invalid.{{cite book|title=Check-list of birds of the world. Volume 3|author=Peters, James Lee| publisher=Harvard University Press| place=Cambridge| year=1937 |pages=97–98|url=https://archive.org/stream/checklistofbirds31937pete#page/97/mode/1up}}
- Spilopelia chinensis suratensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan
- Spilopelia chinensis ceylonensis (Reichenbach, 1851) – Sri Lanka (has shorter wings than suratensis{{cite book|author1=Ali, S.|title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 3. Stone Curlews to Owls.|author2=Ripley, S.D.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1981|edition=2|place=New Delhi|pages=151–155}})
- Spilopelia chinensis tigrina (Temminck, 1809) – Bangladesh and northeast India through Indochina to Philippines and the Sunda Islands
- Spilopelia chinensis chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) – northeast Myanmar to central and east China, Taiwan
- Spilopelia chinensis hainana (Hartert, 1910) – Hainan (off southeast China)
The subspecies S. c. suratensis and S. c. ceylonensis differ significantly from the other subspecies in both plumage and vocalization.{{ cite book | last1=Rasmussen | first1=Pamela C. | author1-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | last2=Anderton | first2=John C. | year=2012 | title=Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide Volume 2: Attributes and Status | edition=2nd | publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Lynx Edicions | place=Washington D.C. and Barcelona | isbn=978-84-96553-87-3 | page=209 }} This has led some ornithologists to treat S. c. suratensis as a separate species, the western spotted dove.{{cite web | last1=del Hoyo | first1=J. | last2=Collar | first2=N. | last3=Kirwan | first3=G.M. | last4=Garcia | first4=E.F.J. | year=2020 | title=Western Spotted Dove (Spilopelia suratensis) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=https://www.hbw.com/node/467132 | access-date=6 March 2020 | url-access=subscription }}
Spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis ceylonensis).jpg|S. c. ceylonensis
Near Galle, Sri Lanka
Spilopelia chinensis Zhengzhou 20220915.jpg|S. c. chinensis
Zhengzhou, China
Spotted dove -- Spilopelia chinensis cropped & noise-processed.png|S. c. tigrina
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Description
{{Infobox bird
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| state = collapsed
| position= left
|pop1=Nominate (Chinese population){{r|faunasinica}}
|data1={{birdbox/population
|unit = mm
|massunit = g
|lengthm = 300-340
|lengthf = 295-330
|culmenm = 15.5-19
|culmenf = 15.5-18
|wingm = 154-163
|wingf = 148-160
|tailm = 155-165
|tailf = 137-160
|tarsusm = 23-25
|tarsusf = 21-24
|weightm = 162-200
|weightf = 150-205
}}
|data2={{birdbox/population
|unit=mm
|culmenm=16
|culmenf=15.8-17.6
|wingm=146
|wingf=148.5-157
|tailm=152
|tailf=132-145.5
|tarsusm=24.5
|tarsusf=23.8
}}
|data3={{birdbox/population
|unit=mm
|culmenm=18-21
|culmenf=19-21
|wingm=135-146
|wingf=132-143
|tailm=118-143
|tailf=117-133
|tarsusm=21-24
|tarsusf=20-24
}}
|data4= {{Infobox bird/population
|unit = mm
|massunit = g
|lengthm = 275-305
|lengthf = 272-315
|culmenm = 15-17
|culmenf = 15-17
|wingm = 139-157
|wingf = 137-149
|tailm = 131-140
|tailf = 123-146
|tarsusm = 23-25
|tarsusf = 20-26
|weightm = 120-142
|weightf = 120-145
}}
|pop5= S. c. tigrina{{r|faunasinica}}
|data5= {{Infobox bird/population
|unit = mm
|massunit = g
|lengthm = 300-305
|lengthf = 310-320
|culmenm = 15-17
|culmenf = 15-16
|wingm = 148
|wingf = 144
|tailm = 151-156
|tailf = 147-158
|tarsusm = 24-24.5
|tarsusf = 24-25
|weightm = 130-190
|weightf = 130-156
}}
}}
The ground colour of this long and slim dove is rosy buff below shading into grey on the head and belly. There is a half collar on the back and sides of the neck made of black feathers that bifurcate and have white spots at the two tips. The median coverts have brown feathers tipped with rufous spots in the Indian and Sri Lankan subspecies which are divided at the tip by a widening grey shaft streak.
The wing feathers are dark brown with grey edges. The centre of the abdomen and vent are white. The outer tail feathers are tipped in white and become visible when the bird takes off. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults and do not acquire the neck spots until they are mature. The length ranges from 28 to 32 centimetres (11.2 to 12.8 inches).{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/indianpigeonsdov00bake#page/203/mode/1up |pages=203–213| title=Indian pigeons and doves|author=Baker, EC Stuart| year=1913| publisher=Witherby & Co.| place=London}}{{cite book| url= https://archive.org/stream/birdsindia04oaterich#page/43/mode/1up |pages= 43–44|title=The Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 4|author=Blanford, WT| year=1898| publisher=Taylor and Francis| place=London}}
Abnormal plumages such as leucism can sometimes occur in the wild.{{cite journal |year=1906 |title=Albinism in the Malay Spotted Dove (Turtur tigrinus) near Kindat, Upper Chindwin |url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30119417 |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=17|issue=1|page=249 |author=Hopwood, JC}}
File:Bifidfeather.jpg|The bifid neck feathers{{cite book|title=Orthogenetic evolution in pigeons| author=Whitman, CO|year=1919| publisher=The Carnegie Institution of Washington|url=https://archive.org/stream/posthumousworks01whituoft#page/n132/mode/1up|page=72}}
File:Streptopelia chinensis-flying.jpg|In flight
Distribution and habitat
The spotted dove in its native range in Asia is found across a range of habitats including woodland, scrub, farmland and habitation. In India it tends to be found in the moister regions, with the laughing dove (S. senegalensis) appearing more frequently in drier areas. These doves are mostly found on the ground where they forage for seeds and grain or on low vegetation.{{cite book|title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 3| edition=2nd| pages=151–155| year=1981| publisher=Oxford University Press| place= New Delhi}}
The species has become established in many areas outside its native range. These areas include Hawaii, southern California,{{cite journal| url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v085n04/p0506-p0512.pdf | title=Feral exotic birds in southern California| author=Hardy JW| year=1973| journal=Wilson| volume=85| issue=4| pages=506–512}} Mauritius,Roger Safford and Frank Hawkins, The Birds of Africa: Volume VIII: The Malagasy Region: Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Mascarenes, A&C Black, 2013. Australia{{cite web | url = http://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/spotted-dove | title = Spotted dove | access-date = 19 October 2021 | publisher = BirdLife Australia}} and New Zealand.Barrie Heather and Hugh Robertson, The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, Viking, 1996.
In Australia they were introduced into Melbourne in the 1860s and have since spread but there is insufficient evidence that they compete with native doves. They are now found in streets, parks, gardens, agricultural areas, and tropical scrubs in diverse locations throughout eastern Australia and around the cities and major towns across southern Australia. The original populations appear to be S. c. chinensis and S. c. tigrina in varying proportions.{{cite journal|title= Races of the introduced spotted turtledove, Streptopelia chinensis (Scopoli), in Australia|author1=Frith HJ |author2=JL McKean | journal= Australian Journal of Zoology| volume= 23| issue=2| pages=295–306|doi= 10.1071/ZO9750295|year= 1975}}{{cite journal|author=Jack, N. |year=1967| title=The Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis, and its subspecies in Australia|journal= Emu |volume=67|issue=4|page=298 |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/mu/pdf/MU967294e|doi=10.1071/MU967294e}}
Behaviour and ecology
File:Spotted_Dove_and_its_egg.jpg
Spotted doves move around in pairs or small groups{{cite journal|vauthors=Sadedin SR, Elgar MA |year=1998| title= The influence of flock size and geometry on the scanning behaviour of spotted turtle doves, Streptopelia chinensis| journal= Australian Journal of Ecology|volume=23| pages= 177–180|doi= 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1998.tb00715.x|issue=2}} as they forage on the ground for grass seeds, grains, fallen fruits and seeds of other plants.{{cite journal|year=1990|title=Biometrics and food of some doves of the genus Streptopelia|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48807180|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=87|issue=3|pages=452–453|author1=Satheesan SM|author2=Rao, Prakash|author3=Datye, Hemant}} They may however take insects occasionally and have been recorded feeding on winged termites.{{cite journal|year=2005|title=Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis feeding on winged termites|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48378798|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=102|issue=1|page=115|vauthors=Sivakumaran N, Rahmani AR}} The flight is quick with regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings. A display flight involves taking off at a steep angle with a loud clapping of the wing and then slowly gliding down with the tail spread out.
The breeding season is spread out in warm regions but tends to be in summer in the temperate ranges. In Hawaii, they breed all year round, as do all three other introduced species of doves. Males coo, bow and make aerial displays in courtship.{{cite journal|year=1958|title=Variation in the output of song of a Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis (Scopoli)|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48068636|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=55|issue=1|pages=161–166|author=Ara, Jamal}} In southern Australia, they breed mostly from September to January, and in the north in autumn.{{cite journal|title=Sexual cycles and food of the doves Streptopelia chinensis and S. senegalensis in Australia|author1=Frith HJ|author2=JL McKern |author3=LW Braithwaite |name-list-style=amp | journal=Emu |volume=76|issue=1|pages=15–24|year=1976| doi=10.1071/MU9760015 |bibcode=1976EmuAO..76...15F }} They nest mainly in low vegetation, building a flimsy cup of twigs in which two whitish eggs are laid. Nests are sometimes placed on the ground or on buildings and other structures.{{cite journal|year=1992|title=An unusual nest-site of Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis (Scopoli)|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48732718|journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume=89|issue=2|page=254|author1=Subramanya, S|author2=Karthikeyan S|author3=Prasad JN|author4=Srinivasa TS|author5=Arun B}}{{cite journal|year=1909|title=Doves nesting on the ground|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5449980|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=19|issue=2|pages=523–524|author=Allan, CW}} Both parents take part in building the nest, incubating and feeding the young. The eggs hatch after about 13 days and fledge after a fortnight. More than one brood may be raised.{{cite journal| url=https://archive.org/stream/NLBW21#page/n99/mode/1up|pages=5–9 |year=1981| title=A close study of the Spotted Dove|journal=Newsletter for Birdwatchers | volume=21| issue=7|author=Kumar SA}}
The vocalizations of the spotted dove include cooing softly with a Krookruk-krukroo... kroo kroo kroo with the number of terminal kroos varying in the Indian population and absent in tigrina, chinensis and other populations to the east.
The species has been extending its range in many parts of the world. Populations may sometimes rise and fall rapidly, within a span of about five years.{{cite journal|author=McClure HE| year=1991| title=The collapse of a local population of Spotted Doves (Streptopelia chinensis) in southern California|journal=North American Bird Bander| volume=16| issue=2| pages=34–36|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nabb/v016n02/p0034-p0036.pdf}} In the Philippines, the species may be outcompeting the Streptopelia dusumieri.{{cite journal|journal=Fieldiana Zoology|volume=114|title=The Avifauna of Mt. Kitanglad, Bukidnon Province, Mindanao, Philippines|author=Peterson AT|url=http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/PubsHTML/PDF-Files/90.pdf|year=2008|pages=1–43|doi=10.3158/0015-0754(2008)114[1:TAOMKB]2.0.CO;2|last2=Brooks|first2=Thomas|last3=Gamauf|first3=Anita|last4=Gonzalez|first4=Juan Carlos T.|last5=Mallari|first5=Neil Aldrin D.|last6=Dutson|first6=Guy|last7=Bush|first7=Sarah E.|last8=Clayton|first8=Dale H.|last9=Fernandez|first9=Renato|s2cid=31061087 |access-date=2012-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902200013/http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/PubsHTML/PDF-Files/90.pdf|archive-date=2009-09-02|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|author1=Waldbauer, GP |author2=SM Waldbauer |name-list-style=amp | year=1982| title=First sight record of the Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis from Luzon and a summary of its range expansion in the Philippines| journal= Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club| volume=102| pages=22–24|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40825215}} Their habit of flushing into the air when disturbed makes them a hazard on airfields, often colliding with aircraft and sometimes causing damage.{{cite journal|title=Analysis of bird strikes at a tropical airport |vauthors=Linnell MA, Conover MR, Ohashi TJ | journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management| volume= 60| issue=4 | year=1996| pages= 935–945|doi=10.2307/3802396| jstor= 3802396}}{{cite journal| title=Southeast Asian invasive birds: ecology, impact and management|author1=Yap CAM |author2=NS Sodhi | journal=Ornithological Science| volume=3| pages=57–67| year=2004| doi=10.2326/osj.3.57| doi-access=free}}
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Spilopelia chinensis|Spilopelia chinensis}}
- [https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Spilopelia-chinensis Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the spotted dove]
- [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/spotted-dove-streptopelia-chinensis Photographs and other media on the Internet Bird Collection]
- [http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/pigeons.html Pigeon taxonomy]
- [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~carlo/suburbia-images-p.html Spotted Dove Photos (Dark Mutation)]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q116686}}