An Ornithological Success Story?

Did you know?

50 years ago, Streptopelia decaocto, the Collared Dove, hadn't even started breeding on these shores?

The story of how this species has dispersed from Asia is remarkable.

Something else remarkable that I have just stumbled upon is the name.

When I was an animal mad teenager, I found an injured Collared Dove.

I took her home (she might have been a boy but no matter!) and she took up residence in my bedroom where I somehow managed to nurse her back to health.

I called her Octavia after a character in a book I was reading.

Tonight, 30 years later, I looked up the Latin name for this bird......spooky!!!

Sorry for yet another bird Blip but today was a bit of a dud.