The Eurasian Collared-Dove: Successful BC Immigrants
We see more and more of these plump, white birds in our yard every year. Although they first appeared in the neighborhood about ten years ago, their cooing song has come to define early summer mornings as much as the trilling house finches and white-crowned sparrows.
Eurasian Collared-Doves aren’t native to British Columbia, however. According to Cornell University’s terrific birding website, Eurasian Collared-Doves came to North America from the Bahamas some forty years ago. The story goes that a few birds escaped from a pet shop shop burglary in the 1970s, after which the shop owner set another 50 birds free. Some made it to Florida, and from there they colonized the U.S. and moved into southern Canada. Others were apparently released from the island of Guadalupe (far off the Baja coast) when a volcano was threatening to erupt. These likely populated the western U.S.
This northern flicker warily shared space with a Eurasian Collared-Dove in our apple tree.
Here in the Vancouver region, they seem to be weathering our cold, damp winters just fine. They come to our feeder and bird bath regularly. Perhaps they are displacing other species, but it seems they’re sharing space with the flickers…
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