Sadly, this is probably the closest I'm going to get to African avifauna for a while at least. This dove or pigeon was shown during one of the many lulls in the (horrible) World Cup match between England and Algeria today. The match was played in Cape Town.
Any idea what it might be? The down on the head looks like it's a fledgling.
Don't laugh but I know people who keep life lists of birds they see on TV. I'm not one of them.
Excuse the poor angle but the camera man is probably not a BPN member.
Don't know much about the pigeon but what a dud game that was, even though I am Italian for some reason I cheer on England..no one from England showed up for that game.
This is probably a youngster
In my book on South African birds, it shows only two types of pigeons with spots on wings:
1: Speckled (Rock) Pigeon..probably the one, juvenile lacks the red on the face of the adult
2: African Olive-Pigeon..it has spots on the wing and is a purplish color but has yellowish bill..
Hope this helps, just a guess though
I can't help with the ID but find the thought of TV birding pretty funny. :) A while ago, I watched an American movie that was set in Europe, in the BG was constantly the song of a Northern Cardinal. I think there are also people who keep lists of 'wrong' birds in movies.
I've often thought there is a source of income for ornithologists in Hollywood- to get the bird songs right! You hear Kookaburras in every jungle throughout the world, Red-tailed Hawks calling when the director wants that lonely, away from it all feeling, and then many assorted others. I watched the movie Shutter Island the other night (quite good BTW), which is supposed to be set in San Francisco Bay and lo and behold, a Chiffchaff starts singing. I don't doubt your final comment Axel. People seem to list everything these days.
I would go with the Speckled Pigeon (old name Rock Pigeon) as they were common in the area when I lived there some 20 years ago. My big hope with the football is that the visiting photographers leave some of those lenses behind....
South African dove/pigeon ID?
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