Bar-shouldered Dove
Geopelia humeralis
The Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) is a common doves and pigeon found in 3 countries, weighing about 128 g. The bar-shouldered dove is a species of long tailed dove native to Australia and Southern New Guinea.
About the Bar-shouldered Dove
The bar-shouldered dove is a species of long tailed dove native to Australia and Southern New Guinea. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. It is a medium-sized pigeon varying in size from 26–30 cm (10–12 in). Its voice is a distinctive and melodious "cook-a-wook" or "coolicoo".
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The dove has a blue-grey breast with chequered brown-bronze wings. The nape is similar to that of the peaceful dove in that the nape feathers are striated but differs in that the bar-shouldered dove does not have striated throat feathers like the peaceful dove. Furthermore, the nape feathers are copper in colour. These doves are also often confused with the introduced and common spotted turtle dove. The eye ring tends to be grey but red-brown when breeding. The juveniles are duller in colour.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Bar-shouldered Dove can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Bar-shouldered Dove?
- The dove has a blue-grey breast with chequered brown-bronze wings. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Bar-shouldered Dove?
- The Bar-shouldered Dove is a medium sized bird weighing about 128 g.
- Where can you see a Bar-shouldered Dove?
- The Bar-shouldered Dove occurs in 3 countries, including Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
- What birds look similar to a Bar-shouldered Dove?
- The Bar-shouldered Dove is most easily confused with the Peaceful Dove, the Zebra Dove and the Diamond Dove.
- Is the Bar-shouldered Dove endangered?
- The Bar-shouldered Dove is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Bar-shouldered Dove for real
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