Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2026 | 18(2): 28438–28440
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10119.18.2.28438-28440
#10119 | Received 29 August 2025 | Final received 30 January 2026 |
Finally accepted 11 February 2026
First record of the Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata, an
Australian endemic, in Sikhna Jwhwlao
National Park, Assam, India
Bibhash Sarkar 1 , Bijay Basfore
2 , Leons Mathew Abraham 3 & Anjana Singha Naorem 4
1 Department of Zoology, Pandu
College, Pandu, Guwahati, Assam 781012, India.
2,4 Department of Zoology, Cotton
University, Panbazar, Guwahati, Assam 781001, India.
3 Pygmy Hog Research & Breeding
Centre, Indira Nagar, Basistha, Guwahati, Assam
781029, India.
1 bibhashsarkar2810@gmail.com, 2
zoo2491005_bijay@cottonuniversity.ac.in (corresponding author),
3 leonsreptar@gmail.com, 4 anjanasingha@cottonuniversity.ac.in
(corresponding author)
Editor: Ashutosh Singh, Salim
Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India. Date of publication: 26 February 2026 (online & print)
Citation:
Sarkar, B., B. Basfore, L.M. Abraham & A.S. Naorem (2026). First record of the Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata,
an Australian endemic, in Sikhna Jwhwlao
National Park, Assam, India. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 18(2):
28438–28440. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10119.18.2.28438-28440
Copyright: © Sarkar et al. 2026. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We sincerely thank the divisional forest officer, Chirang Division, Kajalgaon, for granting us the permit to study the avian diversity and ecology in the Runikhata Range of Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park (Permit No. B/CRD/permission/974-75). Our gratitude also goes to the range officers and frontline staff for their invaluable support in the field and for their unwavering dedication to conservation. BS gratefully acknowledges the Department of Zoology, Pandu College, for providing academic support.
The Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata
(Latham, 1801) is an Australian endemic and among the smallest species of the Columbidae family, inhabiting the arid and semi-arid
regions of central, western, and northern Australia (Schleucher
et al. 1991). This delicate dove is characterized by a long, pointed tail and
sexually dimorphic plumage. Males are pale blue-grey with spotted scapulars, a
chestnut wing panel, white underparts, black-and-white tail, scarlet iris, and
pink legs, while females are browner with a duller orbital ring, and juveniles
are overall duller with fine barring, fewer spots, a lighter bill, and paler
eyes and legs (Gibbs et al. 2001; Baptista et al. 2017).
Globally, the Diamond Dove is
assessed as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN
2025). However, it was listed as threatened on the 2013 advisory list of
threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, Australia, under the provisions of
part 3 of the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee
Act 1988 (FFG Act) (DSE 2013). On eBird,
31,891 observations are documented from: Oceania, North America, Europe, Asia,
and South America. Among these, 214 records are categorized as escapees,
denoting birds observed outside their natural range (eBird
2026). This distribution highlights the species’ restriction to Oceania and
suggests that most extra-limital records represent escapees, captive releases,
or vagrants rather than natural dispersal.
On 4 April 2025, around 1115 h,
we documented two individuals of Diamond Dove (Image 1) in the Runikhata Range of the recently declared Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park
(26.835° N, 90.413° E), located in the Kokrajhar
District of Assam, India. Two birds were observed foraging on the ground
approximately 200 m from a dried-up stream. Given that the Diamond Dove is
strictly resident in Australia and does not naturally occur in southern Asia,
its presence in Assam is best explained as a human-mediated introduction. The
species is extensively bred and traded in the global cage-bird industry due to
its small size, ease of maintenance, and ornamental plumage. Thus, the most
plausible explanation for our record is that these individuals were escapees or
intentional releases from captivity.
To further understand the context
of this record, we searched major citizen science platforms, including eBird, iNaturalist, and GBIF, to
compile all available Indian records of the Diamond Dove. These data revealed
that the Diamond Dove has been previously reported from Delhi, Karnataka,
Kerala, and Punjab, all being considered escapee occurrences (Table 1).
Additionally, our review of
citizen science databases also revealed that India has reported escapees of
several other exotic bird species, including the Blue-bellied Roller Coracias cyanogaster
from West Bengal, Mute Swan Cygnus olor from
Gujarat, Japanese Quail Coturnix japonica from the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, and Black Vulture Coragyps atratus from Haryana. In Assam, the only previously
documented escapee bird records include Domestic Goose Anser
sp. and Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, making the present
observation of Diamond Dove particularly noteworthy as the first record of this
species in the state.
Although many escapees fail to
establish, certain species may adapt and form feral populations under favourable conditions. Factors such as captive origin,
availability of urban resources, and reduced predation can facilitate
persistence, as exemplified by Monk Parakeet Myiopsita
monachus and Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri
in Spain, where heavy importation enabled self-sustaining populations despite
subsequent import bans (Souviron-Priego et al. 2018).
The present observation emphasizes the importance of monitoring escapees, as
they may compete with native species (Charter et al. 2016), alter the native
plant communities (Menchetti & Mori 2014),
facilitate transmission of zoonotic diseases (Ancillotto
et al. 2018), potentially establish invasive populations (Souviron-Priego
et al. 2018), and negatively impact human economy by damaging crops (Haubrock et al. 2021).
Furthermore, public awareness is
crucial, as uninformed bird owners may release captive birds into the wild,
inadvertently promoting the spread of zoonotic diseases transmissible to humans
and native avifauna (Nair et al. 2022). Continuous documentation of such
occurrences in India is essential to evaluate the frequency and ecological
impact of non-native introductions. Although many escapees may not survive,
repeated introductions heighten the risk of local adaptation, successful
breeding, and long-term establishment. Such events could alter community
dynamics, increase competition, introduce novel pathogens, and complicate
conservation of native bird communities.
We therefore advocate vigilant
monitoring and systematic reporting of exotic bird escapees in India to assess
their ecological consequences. Where permitted, the exotic bird trade should be
strictly licensed and regulated, with safeguards to prevent accidental or
deliberate releases. Effective regulatory frameworks will be critical to minimising risks to native biodiversity while balancing
avicultural practices.
Table 1. Records of
Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata
from India based on citizen
science data.
|
|
Source |
Date of observation |
Location |
|
1 |
eBird (Checklist ID
S71738406) and GBIF |
23 September 2020 |
South City, Ludhiana, Punjab |
|
2 |
eBird (Checklist ID
S149444154) and GBIF |
09 June 2023 |
Shivakote Kere, Bengaluru Urban, Karnataka |
|
3 |
eBird (Checklist ID
S270286303) |
28 April 2025 |
2 Jasola
Metro Road, South-East Delhi, Delhi |
|
4 |
eBird (Checklist ID
S296356343) |
26 January 2026 |
Thrissur, Kerala |
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