Spotted Turtle-Dove (Introduced)
Streptopelia chinensis
Family: Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves, 25 species in Australia)
Size: 32 cm
Distribution: Within about 100 km of the coasts of NSW, VIC, QLD (except far North), Eastern SA and the SW tip of WA.
Status: Abundant
Habitat: Cities, suburban gardens, parks, established grain-growing areas of coastal, Eastern Australia
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
The Spotted Turtle-Dove is a kind of pigeon, however not as "gross" as the common Feral Pigeon. It has an easily recognisable "coo coooo", or "coo cooooo coo" kind of call which (like most bird calls) is much easier to hear than to read. It raises and lowers its tail on alighting.
The black-with-white-spots area on the back of the Spotted Turtle-Dove's neck makes it easy to recognise.
Birdwatchers call the Spotted Turtle-Dove the "STD".
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Photo: Blaxland, Blue Mountains NSW
The photo below shows a baby Spotted Turtle-Dove that had lost its parents.
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Photo: Blaxland, Blue Mountains NSW
Some Birdwatching Resources
NEW: Birds of Australia: A Photographic Guide, by Iain Campbell, Sam Woods, Nick Leseberg, Geoff Jones (Photographer). I bought this field guide recently (June 2020). As the name suggests, it's got photographs rather than line drawings. They are very high quality, clear photos. I've got so many field guides now, they have to be really good before I buy them (I got it from a physical book shop, so I was able to look through it thoroughly before deciding whether or not to get it).
From the publisher:
Australia is home to a spectacular diversity of birdlife, from parrots and penguins to emus and vibrant passerines. Birds of Australia covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants and features more than 1,100 stunning color photographs, including many photos of subspecies and plumage variations never before seen in a field guide. Detailed facing-page species accounts describe key identification features such as size, plumage, distribution, behavior, and voice. This one-of-a-kind guide also provides extensive habitat descriptions with a large number of accompanying photos. The text relies on the very latest IOC taxonomy and the distribution maps incorporate the most current mapping data, making this the most up-to-date guide to Australian birds.
- Covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants
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Features more than 1,100 stunning color photos
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Includes facing-page species accounts, habitat descriptions, and distribution maps
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The ideal photographic guide for beginners and seasoned birders alike
NOTE: This is the only field guide for Australian birds that I've seen which lists the size of each bird in both centimetres and inches. So if you're much more familiar with inches than centimetres, this would be the best Australian bird field guide to get just for that reason.
Purchase from Australia (The Nile)
Purchase from Australia (Fishpond)
Purchase from Amazon.com (USA Site)
Purchase from Amazon.com.au (Australian Site)
| See AlsoAustralian Bird Field Guides
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