Eurasian Collared Dove

[redrew]

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 600mm + 1.4x, 1/100 @ f5.6

[terrib]

I can't come up with anything else to say except that this is beautiful.

[redrew]

Thank you Terri, I am afraid the position of the bird does not meet most composition standards for bird photography since the bird's body is not even with the head causing the tail to be blurred with the shallow DOF of the 600mm lens. I am sure you have these birds in Texas as we do in Oklahoma. For those that might not be familiar with this specie of Dove, they are not indigenous to the US but are European in origin. One report indicated that they were brought to the Bahamas for wing shooting and somehow got to Florida. They love the US and have propagated rapidly through out the US. We even have a hunting season on them in Oklahoma. They are larger than the native Mourning Dove or White Wing Dove and seem to thrive equally whether in the wild or in town.

[Bobobird]

Nice image. I would'nt worry about composition standards. You know what? Following those standards is like look at just another boring bird pic. A pic that shows it alive and doing something is more rewarding imho.

[jprzybyla]

Hello Rollin, nice image of a bird I have not seen. Below is a photo of a Mourning Dove I shot recently at a wetlands in Florida. The book I have on birds (Stoke's) says that the Euroasian Ring Neck (Colllared) Dove may be a hybrid species of the Mourning Dove.

[redrew]

Thanks Bobo, I agree that bird photography pundits tend toward staid standards. Most are professionals who sell their images to publishers who have photo editors that set the standards for printing images, thus setting the commercial value of the image. But then some are valuing the image from a ornithologist point of view who want to see the most detailed image of a particular specie. In any event it is what pleases those who view the image that is the final word.

Good sharp image Joe. Doves tend to cross breed and there is a specie from Europe called a Ringed-Turtle Dove (according to Sibley's Guide to Birds) that is very similar to the Eurasian Collared Dove but smaller. It would not be surprising that these introduced species cross breed with our native doves. However the Taxonomy of the Eurasian Collared Dove identifies it is a separate specie.

Best wishes

Rollin E. Drew