Red Turtle Dove on Po Toi today (6 June)
I had trouble separating Collared and Red Turtle Dove when I first started birdwatching here.
The clue is, not to look at the collar (it's the same for both) or the eye - much too small to see.
As John says, the difference is in body colour, size and tail length.
Red Turtle Dove is small, much smaller than Collared or Spotted, and has a darker body colour than Collared and a much shorter tail.
Once you work on these, it's quite easy.
Red Turtle Dove has a habit of turning up on Po Toi in late May or early June - the last record in each year has been 18 May 2006, 12 June 2007, 22 May 2008, 25 May 2009, 24 May 2010, 19 May 2011 and now 6 June 2013, often the last migrant species to be seen. Not obvious from Avifauna, I wonder where they are coming from?
By the way, I was only there to clean up and bring back my gear. Nothing else to see except this bird.
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Last edited by wgeoff at 7/06/2013 06:13 ]
