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This
picture was taken from an old VHS tape I shot in the early 1980's for
use in my classroom. The Chinese spotted dove was so common that
I didn't take pictures of it (I could always get a different shot if I
needed it.) In 2000, when I started this web site, I wanted
better quality pictures with my digital camera. The spotted doves
had completely disappeared from the all of Orange County, and much of
Los Angeles County. The ground doves
also disappeared.
I finally got
this picture, clearly showing the black mantle with white spots, by
borrowing a museum specimen from The Shipley
Nature Center, in Huntington each. In the early 20th century,
the Chinese spotted dove was released in a park in Los Angeles.
It spread throughout the lower elevations of the LA basin, driving out
the native mourning dove.
Speculation is that the exploding
population of nest robbing crows since
1990 is responsible for
their disappearance. The mourning doves have returned.
[Taxonomy
: Classification]
[Birds] [ Back Yard Biology]
[ Science
Can Be Fun]