The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (''Streptopelia orientalis'') is a member of the
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Europe, east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations in the patterning of plumage and have been designated into at least six named subspecies. Populations in the higher latitudes tend to migrate south in winter, while those closer to the tropics are sedentary. Vagrants have been recorded in North America. The species is predominantly granivorous and forages on the ground.
Taxonomy
The genus name ''Streptopelia'' is from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''streptos'', "collar" and ''peleia'', "dove". The specific ''orientalis'' is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "eastern", in this case referring to the
type locality, China.
The species has a wide distribution with geographical variation in plumage that has led to at least six subspecies being designated. The distributions of many are not disjunct and gradation exists except in some island populations. Some of the populations of ''Streptopelia turtur'' that occur on the eastern edge can be very similar in appearance to ''S. orientalis'' and in the past the two species have been lumped together.
*western Oriental turtle dove (''S. o. meena'')
(Sykes Sykes may refer to:
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, 1832) – eastern Asia and Central Asia south to the Himalayas from Kashmir to central Nepal. Winters in India as far south as Sri Lanka.
*eastern Oriental turtle dove (''S. o. orientalis'')
( Latham, 1790) – central Siberia to Japan and Korea south to the Himalayas from Assam to Yunnan and northern Vietnam. Winters in South and Southeast Asia (includes ''S. baicalensis'' Buturlin).
* ''S. o. stimpsoni''
( Stejneger, 1887) – the Ryukyu Islands
* ''S. o. orii''
Yamashina, 1932 – Taiwan
* ''S. o. erythrocephala''
( Bonaparte, 1855) – southern peninsular India. This subspecies is reddish-brown on the head with no grey on the forehead or crown, unlike the other subspecies. The undertail coverts and terminal tail band are slaty grey.
* ''S. o. agricola''
( Tickell, 1833) – from Orissa and Bengal to northeastern India and into Myanmar south to Hainan
The Oriental turtle dove has two distinct migratory northern subspecies, ''S. o. orientalis'' in the central
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
n
taiga
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...
, and ''S. o. meena'' in the open woodlands of
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. The differences in the tail patterns of the subspecies ''S. o. orientalis'' and ''S. o. meena'' help separate identification in their wintering grounds. The nominate form is described as having a grey tip to the tail and more black in the outer web of the outer tail feathers, while ''meena'' has a white tip to its tail like the European turtle dove and less black in the outer web of the outer tail feathers. However, these are not consistent differences: both forms can have white or grey tail-bands and ''orientalis'' can have little black in the outer webs of the outer tail feathers.
Description
![Oriental Turtle Dove](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Oriental_turtle_dove.jpg)
The Oriental dove is very similar in plumage to the
Turtle dove. It is a little larger than that species, particularly in the case of ''orientalis'', about the same size as a
collared dove
''Streptopelia'' is a genus of birds in the pigeon and dove family Columbidae. These are mainly slim, small to medium-sized species. The upperparts tend to be pale brown and the underparts are often a shade of pink. Many have a characteristic bla ...
. It shares the black and white striped patch on the side of its neck made of silver-tipped feathers, but the breast is less pink, and the orange-brown wing
feather
Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...
s of the turtle dove are replaced with a browner hue, and darker centres giving a scaly appearance. The tail is wedge shaped, like the turtle dove. The flight is more relaxed and direct than that of its relative. Additionally, the turtle-dove has a bare patch of skin around its eyes, which the oriental dove lacks.
Call
The calls are different from the purring of the European turtle dove. It is a four-syllable ''her-her-oo-oo''. There are significant call differences within the populations as well.
Distribution and habitat
The habitat varies, but the Oriental turtle dove breeds in well-wooded but open habitats and winters in more open habitats but usually with good tree cover.
The westernmost race, ''meena'', breeds in the
Western Palearctic
The Western Palaearctic or Western Palearctic is part of the Palaearctic realm, one of the eight biogeographic realms dividing the Earth's surface. Because of its size, the Palaearctic is often divided for convenience into two, with Europe, North ...
region.
The southernmost populations are resident, but most other birds
migrate south to winter in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
, and southern
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. They disperse widely and are known from islands such as the Lakshadweep in winter.
''S. o. orientalis'' occurs as a rarity in western
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. It is also a vagrant to northern and western
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and occurrences in Britain tend to gather much attention from
twitchers.
Ecology
Breeding
![Tourterelle orientale MHNT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Tourterelle_orientale_MHNT.jpg)
The summer breeding season in the temperate zone can be protracted. In southern India, the breeding season is in winter. In display, the male flaps its wing noisily and shoots up before gliding down with outspread tail. Nests take about two days to build with the male gathering material and the female placing it. The nest is more substantial than in some other doves and is placed at mid-canopy height. In Japan, nests built at a greater height tended to be prone to predation. Males were found to incubate in the day and the female by night. Two white
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
, as for all pigeons and doves, are laid in a twig nest in a tree. Incubation begins immediately after the first egg is laid. The eggs hatch in 15 to 16 days and the chicks take about 15 to 17 days to fledge (in Japan). Both parents feed the altricial chicks with
crop milk
Crop milk is a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds that is regurgitated to young birds. It is found among all pigeons and doves where it is referred to as pigeon milk. An analog to crop milk is also secreted from the esopha ...
. Multiple broods may be raised and nests built by the pair or by others may be reused. Nest reuse may possibly increase the chances of predation. In Japan the principal predators of nestlings and eggs were crows and magpies and to a lesser extent cats and snakes.
Diet
The Oriental turtle dove is granivorous, and feeds on the seeds of
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
,
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
,
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
and
amaranth
''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
. It also consumes
gastropods
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. Ther ...
.
They forage on the ground.
Parasites and diseases
Nests in Japan that have accumulated faeces have been found to host a number of flies belonging to the families
Sphaeroceridae
Sphaeroceridae are a family of true flies in the order Diptera, often called small dung flies, lesser dung flies or lesser corpse flies due to their saprophagous habits. They belong to the typical fly suborder Brachycera as can be seen by their ...
,
Sepsidae
The Sepsidae are a family of flies, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. Over 300 species are described worldwide. They are usually found around dung or decaying plant and animal material. Many species resemble ants, having ...
, and
Stratiomyidae
The soldier flies (Stratiomyidae, sometimes misspelled as Stratiomyiidae, from Greek - soldier; - fly) are a family of flies (historically placed in the now-obsolete group Orthorrhapha). The family contains over 2,700 species in over 380 extan ...
.
Subcutaneous mites of the species ''Hypodectes propus'' have been recorded in Japan. Deaths of a number of birds due to
avian pox
''Avipoxvirus'' (avian pox) is a genus of viruses within the family ''Poxviridae''. ''Poxviridae'' is the family of viruses which cause the afflicted organism to have poxes as a symptom. Poxviruses have generally large genomes, and other such ex ...
virus have been recorded in South Korea.
Other associations
On Hongdo Island, Korea, migratory doves were found to carry seeds of the exotic ''
Achyranthes japonica
''Achyranthes japonica'', commonly known as Oriental chaff flower or Japanese chaff flower, is a perennial member of the genus '' Achyranthes'' in the family Amaranthaceae. It can be discovered on the roadside and its main distribution is in Kore ...
'' attached to their plumage.
Gallery
File:Streptopelia_orientalis1.jpg, Oriental turtle dove
File:Orientalturtledove1.JPG, Oriental turtle doves forage on the ground for their food
File:Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 5847.jpg, At Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve
, photo = Buxa Tiger Reserve forest 2014.jpg
, iucn_category = II
, map = India West Bengal
, map_width =
, label = Buxa NP
, label_position = right
, location = West Bengal, India
, nearest_city = Alipurduar
, coordinates =
, area_km ...
in Jalpaiguri
Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...
district of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, India
File:Oriental Turtle Dove RWD.jpg, In Nepal
File:Oriental turtle dove in Nepal (79).jpg, In Nepal
File:Dove&parrot.jpg, In Uttrakhand, India
File:Streptopelia_orientalis_in_Hsinchu_1.jpg, In Hsinchu City
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
File:Streptopelia_orientalis_in_Hsinchu_2.jpg, In Hsinchu City
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
References
External links
Bird Research - Oriental Turtle Dove
Bibliography
* "National Geographic" ''Field Guide to the Birds of North'' ''America'' ISBN
*''Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4'', Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN
{{Taxonbar, from=Q704987
Oriental turtle dove
The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (''Streptopelia orientalis'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Europe, east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations in th ...
National symbols of the Maldives
Birds of Asia
Oriental turtle dove
The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (''Streptopelia orientalis'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Europe, east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations in th ...
Oriental turtle dove
The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (''Streptopelia orientalis'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Europe, east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations in th ...
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