Red collared dove

　Although rarely seen on Honshu, the Red collared dove is observed every year from autumn to spring in the Nansei Islands.

　It is much smaller than other pigeons commonly found in Japan—about the size of a starling—and is often seen mingling with flocks of Oriental turtle doves.

　The photograph shows a female. As the name suggests, the male has a reddish tinge to its back and belly, whilst the female is a dull, overall greyish-brown colour with no reddish hues.

　It is an extremely rare bird in Kyoto, with only a single record prior to the war, yet it is found all over Taiwan, where it is often seen rummaging through rubbish like a rock pigeon. Although Japan and Taiwan are not that far apart, it feels as though there is a significant biological boundary between them.