Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 14:09:09 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Hilton, Rob" Subject: Ringed Turtle Dove, Bethesda, Maryland MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-2" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable In downtown Bethesda, Maryland, around 1:30 pm this afternoon, I noted a = Ringed Turtle Dove. I saw it opposite the pet shop on Elm Street, near = the trailer at the Giant (which is at the corner of Elm and Arlington = Road). It's not an escape from the pet shop (I asked) and it's been = hanging out there for a week or two. The pet shop owner feeds the = pigeons and now he feeds the dove. It's tail is in molt, and I think it = is molting body feathers too. With due consideration to this overcast = day and my lack of binoculars, it is similar to the illustration of the = lower adult in the Sibley guide, but seems to have slightly more rufous = tones on the back and perhaps a tad more contrast between the wingtip = and the the coverts (but the back and the wing are not as strongly = colored as the Eurasian Collared Dove illustrated on the same plate). = While it did not vocalize, it did respond with great interest to my = imitation of the species' call, rousing itself from torpor and craning = its neck and flying around. =20 For those interested in viewing it, there are some fabulous restaurants = nearby (-: (-: Andalucia (Spanish) is a few steps away; further east on = Elm there is Green Papaya (Vietnamese) and across Woodmont there is = Jaleo (Spanish). There are three other restaurants on this block of = Elm, and a pet bakery (hmmm.....) There is also a municipal parking lot = nearby. =20 I wonder how it will fare once the hawks return in a month or two. =20 Cheers,=20 Rob Hilton rhilton@csa.com Bethesda, Md.=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================