Luigi Strano
Tortora euroasiatica immigrata anche in Sardegna (1970)
The Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, also spelled Eurasian Collared-Dove or called simply the Collared Dove,is one of the great colonisers of the avian world. Its original range was warmer temperate regions from southeastern Europe to Japan. However, in the twentieth century it expanded across the rest of Europe, reaching as far west as Great Britain by 1953; breeding in Britain for the first time in 1956, and Ireland soon after. It also now breeds north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia. It is not migratory.
It was introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s and spread to Florida by 1982. Its stronghold in North America is still the Gulf Coast, but it is now found as far south as Veracruz, as far west as California, and as far north as British Columbia, the Great Lakes, and Central Saskatchewan. Its impact on native species is as yet unknown; it appears to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Mourning Dove and Rock Pigeon.
A profile of a collared dove.It breeds wherever there are trees for nesting, laying two white eggs in a stick nest. The eggs are incubated by the female during the night and by the male during the day. Incubation lasts 14-18 days, and young fledge after 15-19 days. It is not wary and is often found around human habitation.
This is a medium sized dove, color in the range of buff grey with a darker back and a blue-grey underwing patch. It is substantially larger than the common Mourning Dove, and larger specimens may exceed six ounces in weight, and exceed fourteen inches in length from tip of beak to tip of tail, with a wingspan that occasionally exceeds 18 inches. The tail feathers are tipped white. It has a black half-collar on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is reddish brown, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown eye colour can be seen around the black pupil.
This is a gregarious species, and sizable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain which is its main food as well as seeds, shoots and insects. The song is a coocoo, coo repeated many times. It is phonetically similar to the Greek, decaocto ('eighteen'), to which the bird owes its name. Occasionally it also makes a harsh loud mechanical-sounding call lasting about 2 seconds, particularly when landing in the summer.
The males have an unusual mating display, consisting of a rapid nearly vertical climb to height, followed by a long glide downward in a spiral. At all other times, flight is typically direct without gliding.
La tortora dal collare orientale (Streptopelia decaocto) è un uccello che fa parte della sottofamiglia dei Columbinae, originario dell'Asia, ma nel XX secolo ha avuto una forte espansione in Europa.
La taglia media è di 32 cm di lunghezza, e 165 grammi di peso. Il suo colore è il grigio-rosso o caffellatte, leggermente più scuro sul dorso; le ali hanno apice bruno scuro e in volo la coda appare bianca a base nera. Sul collo spicca uno stretto collarino nero.
Di forme più slanciate rispetto al piccione domestico, è molto simile alla tortora domestica.
Originaria dell' Asia meridionale, la Tortora dal collare orientale può essere incontrata in buona parte dell'Eurasia ed in Africa del nord; alcuni esemplari si sono visti anche in America del Nord. All'inizio del XX secolo la Tortora dal collare orientale era presente in Europa soltanto all'estremo sud-est della Penisola balcanica. Successivamente ha ampliato in modo spettacolare il suo areale distributivo, colonizzando tutto il continente .Questo tipo di tortora è un uccello stanziale (non migratorio) non autoctono (sicuramente importato negli anni ’70), ma ormai molto comune e diffuso allo stato selvaggio in Sardegna
Font : Wikipedia
Tortora euroasiatica immigrata anche in Sardegna (1970)
The Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, also spelled Eurasian Collared-Dove or called simply the Collared Dove,is one of the great colonisers of the avian world. Its original range was warmer temperate regions from southeastern Europe to Japan. However, in the twentieth century it expanded across the rest of Europe, reaching as far west as Great Britain by 1953; breeding in Britain for the first time in 1956, and Ireland soon after. It also now breeds north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia. It is not migratory.
It was introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s and spread to Florida by 1982. Its stronghold in North America is still the Gulf Coast, but it is now found as far south as Veracruz, as far west as California, and as far north as British Columbia, the Great Lakes, and Central Saskatchewan. Its impact on native species is as yet unknown; it appears to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Mourning Dove and Rock Pigeon.
A profile of a collared dove.It breeds wherever there are trees for nesting, laying two white eggs in a stick nest. The eggs are incubated by the female during the night and by the male during the day. Incubation lasts 14-18 days, and young fledge after 15-19 days. It is not wary and is often found around human habitation.
This is a medium sized dove, color in the range of buff grey with a darker back and a blue-grey underwing patch. It is substantially larger than the common Mourning Dove, and larger specimens may exceed six ounces in weight, and exceed fourteen inches in length from tip of beak to tip of tail, with a wingspan that occasionally exceeds 18 inches. The tail feathers are tipped white. It has a black half-collar on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is reddish brown, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown eye colour can be seen around the black pupil.
This is a gregarious species, and sizable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain which is its main food as well as seeds, shoots and insects. The song is a coocoo, coo repeated many times. It is phonetically similar to the Greek, decaocto ('eighteen'), to which the bird owes its name. Occasionally it also makes a harsh loud mechanical-sounding call lasting about 2 seconds, particularly when landing in the summer.
The males have an unusual mating display, consisting of a rapid nearly vertical climb to height, followed by a long glide downward in a spiral. At all other times, flight is typically direct without gliding.
La tortora dal collare orientale (Streptopelia decaocto) è un uccello che fa parte della sottofamiglia dei Columbinae, originario dell'Asia, ma nel XX secolo ha avuto una forte espansione in Europa.
La taglia media è di 32 cm di lunghezza, e 165 grammi di peso. Il suo colore è il grigio-rosso o caffellatte, leggermente più scuro sul dorso; le ali hanno apice bruno scuro e in volo la coda appare bianca a base nera. Sul collo spicca uno stretto collarino nero.
Di forme più slanciate rispetto al piccione domestico, è molto simile alla tortora domestica.
Originaria dell' Asia meridionale, la Tortora dal collare orientale può essere incontrata in buona parte dell'Eurasia ed in Africa del nord; alcuni esemplari si sono visti anche in America del Nord. All'inizio del XX secolo la Tortora dal collare orientale era presente in Europa soltanto all'estremo sud-est della Penisola balcanica. Successivamente ha ampliato in modo spettacolare il suo areale distributivo, colonizzando tutto il continente .Questo tipo di tortora è un uccello stanziale (non migratorio) non autoctono (sicuramente importato negli anni ’70), ma ormai molto comune e diffuso allo stato selvaggio in Sardegna
Font : Wikipedia