mdahlem.net WWW

Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y

11

Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) Alternate name(s): "Mangrove-dove", "Pandanus Pigeon" Size: 27-30 cm Weight: 110-150 g

Australia: Family Group 11 Family Group 11 Table White-headed Pigeon Pied Imperial Pigeon Topknot Pigeon Crested Pigeon Spinifex Pigeon Flock Bronzewing Common Bronzewing Brush Bronzewing Squatter Pigeon Partridge Pigeon White-quilled Rock-Pigeon Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon Banded Fruit-Dove Wompoo Fruit-Dove Superb Fruit Dove Rose-crowned Fruit Dove Emerald Dove Brown Cuckoo-Dove Wonga Pigeon Peaceful Dove Diamond Dove Bar-shouldered Dove Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Bar-shouldered Doves are small doves. They have a bluish-grey face and front (throat, chest) and a creamy belly and vent. The back, from head to rump, is all-scalloped. The cap is scalloped grey, the nape of the neck is scalloped brown and black. The back (mantle, wings) is scalloped greyish-brown and black. The irises are yellow, the bill is grey; legs and feet are pink. The sexes are so similar, if not identical, that they are more easily told apart by behaviour than by their appearance.

Taxonomy, classification See Bar-shouldered Dove at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Bar-shouldered Dove is available HERE . Bar-shouldered Doves are found only in southern New Guinea and in parts of Australia. There are three races of Bar-shouldered Doves in Australia. They populate basically two parts of the Australian continent: The tropical North, along the North coast of WA from about Exmouth, via the Kimberley through the Top End of the NT and including all of Cape York peninsula, plus the eastern part, East of a line connecting Townsville, QLD, and Melbourne, VIC. However, they are not found in most of VIC and not in Tasmania either. To the South and West of the lines mentioned above lies an almost rectangular "exclusion zone" on the rest of the continent, where no Bar-shouldered Doves are found. Race "hedlandi" is endemic to the area from about Exmouth, WA, to Eighty Mile Beach, WA. Across the tropical North, up to a line connecting Cape Melville with Mt. Isa, QLD, race "inexpectata" is found. Along the East coast, to the South of that line, one finds nominate race "humeralis". Bar-shouldered Doves can be found in a variety of habitats, from mangrove swamps to eucalypt forest, often also in the fringe growth along roads or on farms.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "humeralis" Bar-shouldered Doves, race "humeralis", were first spotted by us 20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, in 2005, then again 20 km South-West of Narrabri in September 2006. Since then we find them regularly in various locations in the Great Dividing Range and its western slopes, often near creeks or gullies. C. & T. Lawrence report spotting Bar-shouldered Doves in Cairns, QLD, in September 2006. C. Hayne reports that Bar-shouldered Doves, race "humeralis", are observed regularly in the area of Moree, NSW. M. Adam-Cross reports spotting Bar-shouldered Doves, race "humeralis", in Yarramundi, NSW, 80 km East of Sydney, in June 2015. Bar-shouldered Doves, race "humeralis", are most numerous and found almost everywhere along the coast of southern and central QLD, where we first observed them in July 2009. Since then various contributors find them there regularly. M. Mearns reports spotting Bar-shouldered Doves as far West in inland QLD as Bunya Mountains NP in December 2015, and at Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NP, QLD, in September 2019. Race "inexpectata" We have found Bar-shouldered Doves, race "inexpectata", in abundance in the Northern Territory in August 2014. J. Greaves reports spotting Bar-shouldered Doves, race "inexpectata", at the Broome Bird Observatory, Broome, WA, in April 2015. K. Ohlsen reports spotting Bar-shouldered Doves, race "inexpectata", in Acacia Hills, NT, in August 2017. P. Brown reports spotting Bar-shouldered Doves, race "inexpectata", regularly in Darwin, NT. In the 2020 breeding season a pair was found nesting (twice) in an urban garden. A nest was found at the same location again in April/May 2023.

Photos

Race "humeralis"

ADULT

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a pair of Bar-shouldered Doves (photo courtesy of T. Lawrence)
[Cairns, QLD, September 2006]

The sex of the birds shown below was determined based on their behaviour, not by their appearance.

Partly obscured near-frontal view of a male Bar-shouldered Dove
[Eulah Creek. NSW, March 2019]

This male Bar-shouldered Dove needed a good stretch: first the tail...
[Eulah Creek. NSW, October 2011]

... now seen stretching one of its wings
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]

Dorsal view of a male Bar-shouldered Dove fanning its tail to impress a female; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 18 November 2015
[Near Narrabri, NSW, November 2015]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Bar-shouldered Dove
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2019]

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Anstead, QLD, April 2017]

Frontal view from above of a Bar-shouldered Dove on the ground
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2009]

Near-frontal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Maules Creek, NSW, March 2012]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum, QLD, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 27 November 2014
[Bullawa Creek SCA, 15 km East of Narrabri, NSW, November 2014]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove on the ground
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, January 2009]

Now the other way round...
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, January 2009]

Bar-shouldered Dove in brilliant sunlight
[Leard State Forest, NSW, May 2014]

Near-dorsal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Maules Creek, NSW, March 2012]

Dorsal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Maules Creek, NSW, March 2012]

Close-up dorsal view of two Bar-shouldered Doves (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Here an adult Bar-shouldered Dove, left, with some wing feathers in disarray exhibiting their brown mid-section, and a juvenile bird, right, with much paler colours
[Near Moree, NSW, April 2012]

Twitcher's tip

Out in nature, the two things that give away Bar-shouldered Doves when spotted are the unusual contrast between bright front and dark back and, when seen sitting in bright sunlight, their startlingly pink feet.

Frontal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove; note the pink feet
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove; note the pink feet (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, March 2018]

Bar-shouldered Dove out on a limb; here one can see the strong colour contrast of light front vs. dark back that makes this type of dove discernible from others at a glance; note also the pink feet
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, January 2009]

Race "inexpectata"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Bar-shouldered Dove displaying for its partner; note the prominent, blood-infused orbital skin and also the pink feet (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, November 2017]

FEMALE

Lateral/ventral view of a female Bar-shouldered Dove; the sex was determined by its reaction to the cooing male shown above - however, note the much less prominent orbital skin and the grey legs and feet, which also contrast with the male's
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, November 2017]

Sex unknown

Near-lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, May 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove
[Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of K. Ohlsen)
[Acacia Hills, NT, August 2017]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove, showing its excellent camouflage in litter on the ground (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, September 2017]

Lateral view of a pair of Bar-shouldered Doves (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Broome Bird Observatory, Broome, WA, April 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, September 2017]

Direct comparison of the size of a Bar-shouldered Dove with a Spangled Drongo (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, April 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Bar-shouldered Dove; note the dull colours and the indistinct transition of colours on the front
[Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Frontal/ventral view of a moulting(?) juvenile Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, July 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a moulting(?) juvenile Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, July 2020]

Near-frontal view of two fledgling Bar-shouldered Doves hiding between irrigation pipes while waiting to be fed
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Near-lateral view of a fledgling Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, April 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a fledgling Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, May 2021]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jan - Dec

Eggs: 2

Incubation period: 14 - 16 days

Fledging age: ca. 21 days

Depending on geographic latitude and weather conditions, Bar-shouldered Doves can breed at any time of the year. In the south-eastern part of the Australian continent they breed primarily from November to January, in the tropical north from April to July. Like most other doves and pigeons, they can have more than one clutch per year.

Nest building: Female & male

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Pair of Bar-shouldered Doves working on the next generation (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, July 2020]

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Rudimentary basket

Material: Sticks, twigs

Height above ground: 1 - 4 m

The nest shown below was found ontop of a dead branch that had fallen from a tree onto scrubby undergrowth, where it had lodged itself into branches about 2 m above the ground.

Bar-shouldered Dove on its nest with two chicks; note the adult bird's pink-grey orbital skin (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, May 2023]

Bar-shouldered Dove nest with two chicks (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, May 2023]

Level view of a well-camouflaged Bar-shouldered Dove nest
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, April 2013]

View from above into a Bar-shouldered Dove nest, with a hatchling that is just 2-3 hours old and one remaining egg
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, April 2013]

Two days later - in the parents' absence - this photo was obtained, showing that the second chick had also hatched
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, April 2013]

Bar-shouldered Dove nest (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, May 2020]

Bar-shouldered Dove on its nest in a dense shrub (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Lateral view of a Bar-shouldered Dove in its nest on a palm frond (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, July 2021]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 28 x 21 mm

Colour: Shiny white

Shape: Oval

Close-up view of a Bar-shouldered Dove nest with a full complement of 2 eggs in it (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Close-up view of a Bar-shouldered Dove hatchling that is just 2-3 hours old and an egg
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, April 2013]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair/covey

The nest shown in the photos above would have gone unnoticed by us, if mum had not found it necessary to lure the photograher, who - unwittingly - was still about 5 m distant and moving in the wrong direction, away from its nest.

Bar-shouldered Dove using the "broken wing" decoy to distract an intruder
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, April 2013]

Like all other doves and pigeons, Bar-shouldered Doves have the habit of lifting their wings for evaporative cooling.

Bar-shouldered Doves taking a shower under a garden sprinkler (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Maules Creek, NSW, March 2013]

Bar-shouldered Doves taking a shower under a garden sprinkler (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nakara, Darwin, NT, October 2019]

We have noticed that in the tropical North of the Australian continent Bar-shouldered Doves hang out a lot more with Peaceful Doves than in the SE of the continent.

Bar-shouldered Doves foraging together with Peaceful Doves
[Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Food, Diet

Adults: Seeds

Dependents: Regurgitated seeds

Water intake: Daily

All pigeons and doves are strictly vegetarian. Bar-shouldered Doves are seed-eaters.

Bar-shouldered Doves at a waterhole
[Killarney SCA, NSW, November 2019]

Bar-shouldered Dove approaching a waterhole
[Mt. Kaputar NP, near Narrabri, NSW, October 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Doves and pigeons do not, like other birds, open their bills when calling, but they rather "hum" through their noses, with the bill closed.

bardove_20210112_4.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Contact calls (male)	© MD
bardove_20190312.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Contact calls (male)	© MD
bardove_20210112.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Contact calls (male)	© MD
bardove_20190206.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Contact call	© MD
bardove_20190206_2.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Contact calls (Q&A)	© MD
bardove_20170817.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Contact calls (slow)	© MD
bardove_20170831.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	(Partial) contact call	© MD
bardove_20170831_2.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	(Partial) contact calls	© MD
bardove_20210112_3.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Male calling female?	© MD
bardove_art_20131217.m4a	humeralis (SE QLD)	Male calling female?	© ART
bardove_20210112_2.m4a	humeralis (NW NSW)	Various (male)	© MD
bardove_20140818_2.m4a	inexpectata (Darwin, NT)	Contact call	© MD
bardove_20140816.m4a	inexpectata (Darwin, NT)	Contact calls	© MD
bardove_20140818.m4a	inexpectata (Darwin, NT)	Contact calls (Q&A)	© MD
bardove_20140820.m4a	inexpectata (Darwin, NT)	Contact calls (Q&A)	© MD

More Bar-shouldered Dove sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 29 May 2023, 5:55 +00:00