The Palm Dove Streptopelia senegalensis (Columbidae, Aves) in Southern Russia

In the past, the Palm Dove Streptopelia senegalensis was distributed only in Africa, Western Asia, and Hindustan, from where it penetrated into Central Asia relatively recently. In the second half of the 20th century, the Palm Dove began to populate Transcaucasia. Its breeding has been noted also in the North Caucasus, but this part of range is still not reflected in the overview maps of this species distribution. The biology of the Palm Dove has been studied in detail in Central Asia, but in Russia, until recently, information about its ecology was almost absent. In Dagestan, on the lowlands along the Caspian Sea coast, a relatively stable range of the Palm Dove was formed in the 21st century. This species is now common in the cities, nesting mainly on buildings, but it practically does not penetrate north of Makhachkala. In Ciscaucasia, only small isolated foci are known, where episodic nesting of individual pairs is assumed; occasionally, transient specimens are found, which penetrate as far north as Elista and Astrakhan. However, due to current global warming, this sedentary species may soon continue to spread across southern Russia, primarily in developing urbanized territories. Therefore, it is necessary to continue monitoring of the southern Russian populations of the Palm Dove in cities, focusing on studies of the ecological relationships of this species with competitors and predators, as well as on clarifying the role of abiotic factors in the dynamics of its abundance.