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Bar-shouldered Dove

(Geopelia humeralis)
Alternative name: "Mangrove-dove"
Size: 27-30 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

Bar-shouldered Doves populate basically two parts of the Australian continent: The tropical north, along the north coast of WA from about Exmouth, via the Kimberleys through the NT and including all of Cape York, plus the eastern part, east of a line connecting Townsville, QLD, and Melbourne, VIC. However, they are not found in most of VIC and not in Tasmania either. To the south and west of the lines mentioned above lies an almost rectangular "exclusion zone" where no Bar-shouldered Doves are found.

Bar-shouldered Doves can be found in a variety of habitats, from mangrove swamps to eucalypt forest, often also in the fringe growth along roads or on farms.

Sightings

Bar-shouldered Doves have been spotted by us only occasionally 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, first in 2005. Then spotted 20 km south-west of Narrabri in September 2006.

Spotted by us regularly in the area 20-40 km east of Narrabri, in the western foothills of the Nandewar Range.

Bar-shouldered Doves are most numerous and found almost everywhere along the coast of southern and central QLD, where we observed them in July 2009.

Photos

Frontal view of a male Bar-shouldered Dove; this bird was visibly courting a female

Here a more lateral view of the same bird as above; clearly someone needed a good stretch: first the tail...

... now seen stretching one of its wings

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove

Now the other way round...

Bar-shouldered Dove out on a limb; here one can see the strong colour contrast of light front vs. dark back that makes this type of dove discernible from others at a glance

Close-up view from above of a Bar-shouldered Dove

Two Bar-shouldered Doves in a tree

Family of Bar-shouldered Doves preening

Twitcher's tip

Out in nature, the two things that give away Bar-shouldered Doves when spotted are the unusual contrast between bright front and dark back and, when seen sitting in bright sunlight, their startlingly pink feet.

Frontal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove; not the bright pink feet

Food

All pigeons and doves are strictly vegetarian. Bar-shouldered Doves are seed-eaters.