The Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) was first discovered in northwest Florida in 1987 near Destin in Walton County (Smith 1987, Duncan 2000). At that time it was at the northernmost limit of its range in the United States and has since undergone an explosive range expansion (AOU 1998). A native of India, it spread to western Europe by the late 19th century (Smith 1987, Hengeveld 1993). They were first observed in southern Florida in the late 1970s. The suspected source of the Florida birds was no more than 50 individuals that escaped from a Bahama pet store in 1974 (Smith 1987, Robertson and Woolfenden 1992). Locally well-entrenched, it is now a common breeder found throughout the year along the coast and in suburbs of Alabama and northwest Florida (Haggerty et al. 2004).
Author: Robert A. Duncan
Volume Number: 50 Year Published: 2004
Issue Number: 2
Page Number: 33
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2004/Vol 50 No.2_2004_p33-34.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2004/Vol 50 No.2_2004.pdf
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