Sunda collared dove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sunda collared dove |
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Streptopelia
|
| Species: |
bitorquata
|
The Sunda collared dove (Streptopelia bitorquata) is a type of bird in the Columbidae family, which includes pigeons and doves. People sometimes call it the island collared dove, Javanese turtle dove, or Indonesian collared dove. This bird looks a lot like the Eurasian collared dove, but it lives in different places. The Sunda collared dove is a small to medium-sized bird that lives naturally on tropical and subtropical islands in Indonesia.
Contents
Where Does the Sunda Collared Dove Live?
The Sunda collared dove lives on many islands in Indonesia. You can find it on islands like Java and Bali. It also lives on Komodo, Lombok, Sumbawa, Timor, and Flores. These islands are part of the Lesser Sunda Islands.
What Kind of Habitat Do They Like?
These doves prefer to live in certain types of natural areas. They like warm, wet lowland forests. They also enjoy living in mangrove forests. These are forests that grow in salty water along coastlines.
What Does the Sunda Collared Dove Look Like?
The Sunda collared dove is a small to medium-sized bird. It has a pretty light, rosy color around its neck and chest. This color fades into a light caramel shade on its belly. Near the base of its tail, the color becomes a creamy white.
Feather Colors and Markings
The top part of its wings starts with a light grey color. This grey becomes a darker, steely grey towards the end of the wing and the tip of the tail. The feathers under its tail are a very light, almost white color, like an eggshell.
The bird's tail has a few layers, from creamy to a dusty grey. Its eyes are round, like most pigeons and doves. The eye color is a shade of orange caramel. The most special thing about this bird is a dusty black band. This band covers half of the bird's neck. You can also see a white highlight just above this black band.
Related Doves
The Philippine collared dove was once thought to be the same species. Together, they were known as the island collared dove. Now, scientists see them as different species.
What Do Sunda Collared Doves Eat?
The Sunda collared dove's diet changes with the seasons. Just like other collared doves, they mostly eat cereal grains and seeds. They find these seeds on the ground, often searching in low plants.
Seasonal Food Choices
In the autumn months, they will also eat berries. Sometimes, though it's rare, they have been seen eating insects. These include caterpillars and aphids. They might eat bugs when their usual food is hard to find.
How Is the Sunda Collared Dove Doing?
The Sunda collared dove lives on islands that are often far away from big cities. One of the biggest dangers to these birds is losing their homes. This happens when forests are cut down. It also happens when people build more houses and developments on these islands.
Threats to Their Home
Losing their habitat is a major problem for the survival of these birds. Illegal logging is a practice where old forests are cut down without permission. The wood is then sold for money. This illegal logging could also be a reason why this species might disappear.
Are Their Numbers Changing?
People have seen Sunda collared doves, but some think their numbers are going down. They say that fewer birds are seen in their usual spots. However, this is just a guess. There isn't enough scientific research to confirm these claims. More studies are needed to truly understand how many Sunda collared doves are left.
Images for kids
