April issue - Magazine - Page 43
Glenside
News
GlensideNews@mail.com
LOCAL INTEREST
Nature Notes
Sheena tries to clear up any confusion about pigeons, while Jackie recommends some data collection
Stock dove (far left)
Wood pigeon (left)
Turtle dove (right)
Collared dove (far right)
Q. What is the difference between a pigeon and a dove? Wood
pigeons, feral pigeons, racing pigeons, rock doves, stock doves,
turtle doves, collared doves look similar in shape, act much the
same and eat the same things. What makes them different?
A. The answer is… nothing. As far as science is concerned all
these species come from the same family, the Columbidae. It's
people who have made the differentiation in their naming of each
type. We have given the larger, courser, more 'in your face' birds
the name of pigeon. The more delicate birds who purr and coo –
rather than shout 'my toe hurts Betty' endlessly first thing in the
morning – we have chosen to give the softer name of 'dove'.
There is a little bit of a difference in terms of availability of
pigeons and doves, though.
There are no shortages of wood or feral pigeons in the UK.
The former (Columba palumbus) gather in huge numbers near
fields of grain, the latter (Columba livia domestica) in even larger
numbers in the urban 'fields' of squares and housing estates in
every town and city, earning themselves the nickname of 'rats
with wings'. Scientifically, racing pigeons are just glorified and
pampered ferals – apologies to any pigeon fanciers out there!
When it comes to doves the numbers are smaller and the
various species less widespread. The rock dove (Columba livia),
is the ancestor of feral and racing pigeons and the world's oldest
domesticated bird. You might think chickens would wear that
crown but there are records of rock doves being kept for meat and
feathers more than 2,000 years before the first mention of a tame
chook. Charles Darwin studied the way humans have bred rock
doves through the centuries as part of his studies on evolution.
Pure wild rock doves are now in the minority and in the UK
confined to coastal cliffs in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Stock doves (Columba oenas) are the largest of the 'doves',
just slightly smaller than a wood pigeon but with a more delicate
head and beak, iridescent green neck feathers and a beady black
eye. The size and similar body colour can lead to confusion as
both pigeons tend to live in similar habitat. But where the wood
pigeon has a white neck collar and white flashes on its wings,
both seen clearly when it flies, the stock dove has neither. This
visible lack of white is important because the stock dove is a
protected species, so it is illegal to shoot them, whereas wood
pigeons are fair game all year round.
Turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) are nowadays the rarest of
the rare in the UK. These pretty little birds are migrants that
breed here but spend their winters in Africa, south of the Sahara
Desert. They are very colourful, with a pale pink breast, dark blue
stripes on a pale blue background round their necks and caramel
and dark blue wing feathers arranged like shingles on a roof.
Turtle doves have nothing to do with reptiles, they got their
name from the sound of their call, which is a soft turrr turrr. It is
down to the hazards of migrating – loss of suitable habitat for
feeding on the journey and, particularly, being shot by hunters in
numerous countries that they pass over, that has led to their
numbers declining by 93% in this country since 1994. So, if you
spot a turtle dove under your bird feeder this summer, cherish the
sight, you will be one of a very lucky few.
Lastly, we come to the smallest of the Columbidae family, the
collared dove. Their cooing is a familiar sound in rural gardens
where they have made themselves at home since 1955. That was
the year the first birds were found to be breeding in the UK,
having made their way over here from Asia, via continental
Europe. It is possibly the bird that, more than any other of the
pigeon/dove family, gave us the name of the colour dove grey, as
its feathers have that warm grey-brown sheen to them.
Collared doves have been so successful in their colonisation
of our country that they are now found in every corner and in
greater numbers than almost every other garden bird. And their
global conquest has continued. They were found in the Bahamas
in the 1970s and now reside in most of northern America.
BYTHAMS BIRDS
Lots of you report your bird sightings to me, which is great,
thank you! This year it has all been about the early return of the
Swallows and questioning if the Swifts will also be early. I fell
into agreeing but have subsequently been wondering. Birds such
as Swallows and Swifts spend our winter in Africa. Then
something triggers them to start flying north in order to breed in
Europe where long daylight hours and plenty of insects make
feeding young easier.
This trigger is not understood, but the point is, several
thousand miles away the Swallows and Swifts cannot know we
are having good weather. They simply set off and fly. When the
going is good they make fast progress; when the weather is poor,
or food scarce, they are slower and arrive later.
I consulted my records. This year I saw my first Swallow on
the 9th April. It has over the years been as early as the 6th and as
late as the 20th, with by far the most records over the last 20 years
occurring on the 8th and 9th. So, from my records they are bang on
trend this year and, in fact, not early.
Of course, I cannot be everywhere and see everything! Many
of you consider Swallows to have been early this year. I wonder
if it is a product of the good weather in early April making you
more likely to be outside, looking up and noticing?
Data is so important (ask the social media companies!). With
records we can do so much: write articles like this, fight
nonsensical planning applications or help ensure a better
environment. You can join in with the worldwide collection of
bird population data by using the app eBird.
May 10th is Global Big Day, and birders from all over the
world will come together in a massive recording of the birds they
see that day. It is really fantastic to join in a community of tens of
thousands of birders and submit your sightings, which are a 24hour snapshot of the world's birds. It can be a dawn to dust
marathon like many, including me, will enjoy, or a simple
recording of the presence of Swallows in your garden.
Download the app and register on the website (eBird.org).
Get your children involved, it really is easy! Everyone who
registers and sends in data on the day will be able to watch on the
world map as their data is registered, and the overall results will
then be emailed to you. Give it a go.
Page 43
