Until today Eurasian-collared Doves had not been reported in Buchanan County,
but that changed when I looked out my glass dining-room door and saw one
sitting on the wooden block that holds my suet feeder. I immediately noticed
that it was larger and lighter in color than the resident Mourning Doves. I
then noticed the black "collar" on the back of the neck. The bird was only a
few feet from the platform feeder which held sunflower seeds, but because there
were three Mourning Doves feeding it seemed reticent about flying there. After
a few minutes of sitting in the drizzling rain it flew down to the ground and
began to feed there. It fed around the yard for about ten minutes then left. I
knew it was just a matter of time before one showed up in the county since the
species was being seen in surrounding areas, but I surely didn't expect the
first one to be in my yard. The species was reported in neighboring Russell
County to our south in April 2007.
I took some photos of the bird. They can be found at
http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/eura_col_dove
Roger Mayhorn
