Dear Gerry, Took a quick look at your photos. No debate about the woodpecker - what a striking bird! However I suspect the two doves aren't Eurasian Collared Doves in the sense of the introduced species but rather some cage variety of Ringed Turtle Dove or one of several similar species.
First off, the lone bird (in the foreground of the second pic) has whitish flight feathers and a white, not black collar. The mantle of the second bird seems a little too richly toned for Eurasian Collared Dove but this of course could be the light. Both birds seem quite small and dainty to my eye but this is subjective and difficult without other species for comparison. Do you have any additional photos showing the undertail coverts? This would be informative. Despite colonizing most of the US and spreading into western Canada and parts of Mexico, Eurasian Collared Dove remains remarkably rare in NYS. Even the mini-colony near Hamlin (Monroe Co.) seems to be struggling and is certainly not multiplying like this species has done elsewhere. I find this apparent inability to colonize the northeast quite interesting. Is it simply that the winters are too hard or are other factors at play? I don't imagine Idaho or Montana are any more hospitable during the coldest months, yet they have robust resident populations. Cheers, Angus Wilson New York City On Fri, Oct 18, 2013 at 4:33 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Returning home after looking at and photographing the Red-headed > Woodpeckers in Pelham Bay Park I nearly ran over a pair of > Eurasian-collared Doves in the parking lot at 29 Abeel Street, Yonkers, NY. > Here's photos of the Woodpeckers and Doves: > > http://gerrymcgee.smugmug.com/Nature/2013-Bird-Photos > > Gerry McGee > -- > *NYSbirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and > Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail > Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> > *Please submit your observations to **eBird*<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> > *!* > -- > -- Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
