ROCK PIGEONS

In the parlance of pigeon fanciers, these two free-ranging birds are a blue bar and a blue check. Actually the blue bar pattern is the ancestral coloration of the species that once nested on sea cliffs in northern Europe.

CHUKAR IN THE TUMBLEWEEDS

Chukars have been successfully introduced into dry regions of the West Slope of Colorado. This bird was photographed in southern Morgan County and obviously a released bird or an escapee.

EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE FEMALE DISTURBED FROM NEST

Collared-doves showed up in Fort Morgan around 1997. They were quite localized on the SE side of town for a few years, then suddenly spread everywhere.

European starling pair in winter plumage

Starlings give up their glossy breeding plumafe for white spots every fall.

Album: RING-NECKED PHEASANT