Telling an ECD from Ohio's other wild doves is not difficult, but
eliminating the ringed turtle-dove is.  Turtle-doves are common cage
birds (in the trade called ring-necked doves), the species released at
weddings, etc.  They come in many color morphs, some of which closely
resemble Eurasian collared-doves. See
http://www.dovepage.com/species/domestic/Ringneck/ringneckcolorlist.html
They are smaller and slimmer, but you don't often see them together to
make this comparison. I have seen individuals in Ohio that took close
study to separate visually. Dark folded primaries are not diagnostic for
ECD.
        The best way to differentiate the two is via the undertail; they can
overlap in almost all other respects.  In the turtle-dove the undertail
coverts are as pale as or even paler than the rest of the underparts.
The inner parts of the tail feathers are dark, but this dark area ends
well short of the coverts, almost hidden in the folded tail.  In the
Eurasian collared-dove, the undertail coverts are gray. The dark bases
of the tail feathers are longer, extending almost to the end of the
coverts, plus on the outer webs of the outer tail feathers, there is a
dark "spike" or extension: see
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/Seedeaterspics/Eye-feather/ECDTailSpikes.jpg
The spikes are not hidden in the folded tail, and usually easy to make
out, especially on a favored perch like a utility wire. Joe Hammond
wrote a good article on this and other challenges for the Summer 2000
issue of the Ohio Cardinal.
Bill Whan
Columbus

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