Bar-shouldered Dove
Encyclopedia
The Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) is native to Australia
.
It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. It is a medium sized pigeon varying in size from 26 to 30 centimetres (10.4 to 12 inches). Its voice is a distinctive and melodious "cook-a-wook" or "coolicoo".
s. The nape
is similar to that of the Peaceful Dove
in that the nape
feather
s are striated but differs in that the Bar-shouldered Dove does not have striated throat
feathers like the Peaceful Dove. Furthermore, the nape feathers are copper in colour. These doves are also often confused with the introduced and common Spotted Turtle-Dove. The eye ring tends to be grey but red-brown when breeding. The juveniles
are duller in colour.
Doves are often found in pairs, groups or large loose flocks and are seen commonly feeding on the ground
feeding on seeds
. Flight is direct and swift and wings whistle while the birds are in flight.
, mangroves, plantations, swamps, eucalyptus
woodland
s, tropical and sub-tropical scrubs and river margins. They can be found both at inland and coastal regions. The bar-shouldered dove is found over the east coast from Southern New South Wales
(with increasing numbers in the Blue Mountains and Illawarra
regions), north to Cape York
Peninsula
and west to the Pilbara region (about Onslow, Western Australia
. They have been seen increasingly in southern Australia, specifically in north-western Victoria
but may have been displaced in other natural locations by introduced species
. The doves have also been spotted in the Torres Strait
. It is also found in other countries of the South Pacific region, such as Papua New Guinea
.
is a flat twig and grass platform usually in tree
s and shrub
s, mangrove
or scrub. The dove will lay two, white, glossy and rounded egg
s.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. It is a medium sized pigeon varying in size from 26 to 30 centimetres (10.4 to 12 inches). Its voice is a distinctive and melodious "cook-a-wook" or "coolicoo".
Description
The dove has a blue-grey breast with chequered brown-bronze wingWing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
s. The nape
Nape
The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is referred to by the word nucha, which also gives the adjective corresponding to "nape" in English, "nuchal"....
is similar to that of the Peaceful Dove
Peaceful Dove
The Peaceful Dove is a pigeon native to Australia and New Guinea. It is closely related to the Zebra Dove of south-east Asia and the Barred Dove of eastern Indonesia...
in that the nape
Nape
The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is referred to by the word nucha, which also gives the adjective corresponding to "nape" in English, "nuchal"....
feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s are striated but differs in that the Bar-shouldered Dove does not have striated throat
Throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...
feathers like the Peaceful Dove. Furthermore, the nape feathers are copper in colour. These doves are also often confused with the introduced and common Spotted Turtle-Dove. The eye ring tends to be grey but red-brown when breeding. The juveniles
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
are duller in colour.
Doves are often found in pairs, groups or large loose flocks and are seen commonly feeding on the ground
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
feeding on seeds
SEEDS
SEEDS is a voluntary organisation registered under the Societies Act of India....
. Flight is direct and swift and wings whistle while the birds are in flight.
Habitat
Bar-shouldered Doves are usually found in thick vegetation where water is present, damp gullies, forests and gorgesCanyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
, mangroves, plantations, swamps, eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s, tropical and sub-tropical scrubs and river margins. They can be found both at inland and coastal regions. The bar-shouldered dove is found over the east coast from Southern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(with increasing numbers in the Blue Mountains and Illawarra
Illawarra
Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...
regions), north to Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
Peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
and west to the Pilbara region (about Onslow, Western Australia
Onslow, Western Australia
Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, north of Perth. It currently has a population of around 573 people and is in the Shire of Ashburton Local Government Area....
. They have been seen increasingly in southern Australia, specifically in north-western Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
but may have been displaced in other natural locations by introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. The doves have also been spotted in the Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
. It is also found in other countries of the South Pacific region, such as Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
Breeding
Breeding season is from September to January in the south and February to April in the north. Its nestBird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is a flat twig and grass platform usually in tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
or scrub. The dove will lay two, white, glossy and rounded egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s.