ML615548164

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

RECORD ACCEPTED, Origin uncertain WHITE-WINGED DOVE (Zenaida asiatica) A bird showing damage to its bill and toes appeared at a Branford feeder on 20 Feb 2007 (07-02 Donna Lorello*¿, Greg Hanisek, Mark Szantyr¿, Bruce Finnan¿). It has visited the feeder sporadically since then, up to and including winter 2008-09. Acceptance in this category represents full acceptance. The category was created to deal with those species, primarily waterfowl, where evidence points strongly to wild origin but the possibility of captive origin cannot be absolutely ruled out. The bill and foot abnormalities were interpreted by some experts consulted as evidence of time spent in a cage. However, in general, this species has undergone such a strong and widespread northward range expansion, with numerous records at latitudes north of Connecticut, that barring the abnormalities the record would probably be accepted with minimal debate. In fact, the second White-winged Dove, (noted as Accepted earlier in this report), was seen in photographs to have a normal bill and feet. It appeared at a time when the homeowner had heard the long-staying bird calling, suggesting the second bird might have been attracted by the vocalizations. In the end key factors in acceptance of the long-staying bird were: the species¿ recent history of strong northward expansion; reports from experts that White-winged Doves are not popular among dove fanciers; and photos of individual White-winged Doves found at latitudes north of Connecticut that show bill and foot damage attributed to frostbite, rather than cage wear. The bird¿s willingness to stay in the area was not out of keeping with a species undergoing a rapid range expansion.

Technical information

Model

SM-S908U

ISO

640

Focal length

2.2 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/2.2

Shutter speed

1/30 sec

Dimensions

4000 pixels x 2252 pixels

Original file size

662.07 KB