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Hybrid-type Collared Doves Dominated Puerto Rico and Were Common in the Canary Islands

Eurasian collared dove in flight, showing its tail pattern
Research · Evolution & taxonomy

Photographs from citizen-science databases indicate extensive interbreeding between Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) and feral African collared doves, often called Barbary doves (Streptopelia roseogrisea), in parts of their introduced ranges. A 2026 study classified birds from 16 regions using tail pattern, plumage colour and morphology and found hybrid-type individuals especially common in Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands.

The researchers initially collected 1,929 photographs, then filtered nearby records from the same year to reduce the chance of counting the same birds repeatedly. Among the retained birds, hybrid-type individuals made up about 90% of records in Puerto Rico, and 35 of 80 in the Canary Islands, or 43.8%. Hybrid types were also recorded at lower frequencies in the Oman–Qatar–United Arab Emirates–Saudi Arabia region and across several parts of the Eurasian collared dove’s introduced range in the Americas.

Hybrid-type birds were absent from comparison regions

By contrast, no hybrid-type birds were detected in four sampled regions where Eurasian collared doves were native and apparently not mixing with African collared doves, or in New Zealand, where the sampled population consisted only of introduced African collared doves. In Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands, many birds submitted by observers as African collared doves showed Eurasian or hybrid-type features instead.

Photographs cannot confirm genetic ancestry

The study did not use genetic markers to confirm ancestry. Instead, the authors inferred interbreeding from combinations of tail structure, plumage colour and other visible traits whose inheritance and history are known from the two forms. They argue that, where the two introduced populations meet, feral African collared dove phenotypes may be progressively absorbed into mixed populations dominated by Eurasian collared dove ancestry.

Sources and image credit

  1. Smith, W. J., Jezierski, M. T., & van Grouw, H. (2026). Feral Barbary dove phenotypes are lost following Eurasian Collared Dove invasions. Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.70067

Image: Imran Shah / Wikimedia Commons / Flickr. Eurasian collared dove in flight, Islamabad, Pakistan, 15 December 2014; illustrative photograph showing the tail pattern, cropped. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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Evolution & taxonomy

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