There are three exotic species of birds that can be seen at most Georgia birdfeeders.  These birds are the starling and house sparrow and Eurasian collard-dove.  While none of us were around when starlings and sparrows were introduced to the United States, if you were feeding birds during the 1980s, you probably remember when Eurasian collared dove first flew into your backyard.

          Supposedly, a bird breeder living in the Bahamas was burglarized in the 1970s. During the event Eurasian collared doves escaped their confinement.  Sometime thereafter during the same decade Eurasian collared-doves had leap-frogged to Florida.  By 1989 the birds were seen in as far north as Florida’s Lake Okeechobee.   In 1989 the collared doves were seen in North Florida.  The birds were spotted in South Georgia by 1998. In 2006, the birds had spread across the entire state except for extreme Northeast Georgia.

           When they visit feeders they most often dine on black oil sunflower seeds, corn mile and wheat.

          When I began feeding birds decades ago, I never thought I would see the likes of a Eurasian collard-dove at my feeders. While they rarely visit my feeders nowadays, I regularly see them perched on utility wires in cities and towns.

         If another exotic seed-eating bird appears in the United   States, there is a good chance it will suddenly appear at a backyard bird feeder.  Keep watching.