Zebra Dove
Geopelia striata
A small, grayish brown dove with dark bars on the breast and back, and bare blue skin around the eye. The call is a rapid series of short “coos,” higher pitched and faster than Spotted Dove. Native to Southeast Asia, but introduced to many islands, including the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. It is generally quite abundant throughout both its native and non-native range, especially in urban and suburban areas; typically not found in dense forests.
Identification
The birds are small and slender with a long, narrow tail. The upperparts are brownish-grey with black-and-white barring. The underparts are pinkish with black bars on the sides of the neck, breast and belly. The face is blue-grey with bare blue skin around the eyes. There are white tips to the tail feathers. Juveniles are duller and paler than the adults. They can also have brown feathers. Zebra doves are 20–23 centimetres in length with a wingspan of 24–26 cm.<p>Their call is a series of soft, staccato cooing notes. In Thailand and Indonesia, the birds are popular as pets because of their calls and cooing competitions are held to find the bird with the best voice. In Indonesia this bird is called perkutut. In the Philippines they are known as batobatong katigbe ("pebbled katigbe") and kurokutok, onomatopoeic to their calls. They are also known as tukmo in Filipino, a name also given to the spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) and other wild doves. In Malaysia this bird is called merbuk.
Taxonomy
In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included a description and a picture of the zebra dove in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. His drawing was made from a live specimen at the home of admiral Charles Wager in Parsons Green near London. Edwards was told that the dove had been brought from the East Indies. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the zebra dove and placed it with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba striata and cited Edwards's work. The specific name striata is from the Latin striatus meaning "striated". The type locality has been restricted to the island of Java in Indonesia. The species is now placed in the genus Geopelia that was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1837. The zebra dove is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>The zebra dove is closely related to the peaceful dove of Australia and New Guinea and the barred dove of eastern Indonesia. These two were classified as subspecies of the zebra dove until recently and the names peaceful dove and barred dove were often applied to the whole species.
- Scientific name
- Geopelia striata
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Geopelia
Range and habitat
The native range of the species extends from Southern Thailand, Tenasserim, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. It may also be native to Borneo, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and the Philippine islands.<p>The zebra dove is popular in captivity and many populations have appeared outside its native range due to birds escaping or being deliberately released. It can now be found in central Thailand, Laos, Borneo, Sulawesi, Hawaii (introduced in 1922), Tahiti (1950), New Caledonia, the Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago (1960), Mauritius (before 1768), Réunion, and Saint Helena.<p>It inhabits scrub, farmland, and open country in lowland areas and is commonly seen in parks and gardens. Trapping for the cagebird industry has led to them becoming rare in parts of Indonesia but in most parts of its range it is common. Zebra doves are among the most abundant birds in some places such as Hawaii and the Seychelles.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Beautiful Woodpecker
Melanerpes pulcher
Medium-sized woodpecker endemic to northern Colombia. Strikingly patterned: black above and buffy below with bright red crown, yellow nape, black mask, barred flanks, and a white stripe down the back. Found in dry woodlands and edges, usually in pairs. Compare with Black-cheeked Woodpecker, which lacks a yellow nape and has white spots on the wings.
White-lored Spinetail
Synallaxis albilora
Typical spinetail with a long spiky tail, a grayish head, cinnamon wings and tail, a white throat, and rather bright tawny underparts. Sexes similar. The whitish lores are not particularly conspicuous. Inhabits the understory of gallery forest in southwestern Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Note voice: a sharp, nasal “keeeu...kit-kweet!” Compare with Plain-crowned Spinetail, which has less richly colored underparts and a faster song.
Northern White-fringed Antwren
Formicivora intermedia
An attractive, fairly long-tailed antwren of Colombia and western Venezuela. Males are grayish-brown above and black below with a thick white eyebrow that connects with the white sides. Also note bold white spots on wings and tail. Females are whitish below, often with bits of dark streaking on the breast sides. Also look for white eyebrow and wing spots. Look for pairs foraging in the lower levels of dense shrubby woodland, often remaining fairly hidden and difficult to see clearly. Typically occurs in the lowlands up to around 1,000 m. Listen for a series of rather musical clucking notes.
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