Inca Dove

Inca Dove photo courtesy of Clinton and Charles Robertson.

Overall, the yard at our new house isn't very birdy--there isn't much in the way of understory right now. However, one of the nice surprises has been the pair of Inca dove that appear in my yard regularly. I usually don't see them, just hear the distinctive sound of their wings as they take off when I come out of the house. This morning though as I was sipping my tea on the back porch, I was able to watch the doves during the breakfast feeding frenzy at the feeder. The Inca's seem to come in before and after the masses of white-winged dove.

We in Wichita Falls, TX are just about as far north as the dove occurs--they are very sensitive to cold weather. Although the doves don't seem as common here as they used to be (purely anecdotal), they are expanding their range, according to Birds of North America Online. They seem to prefer to live around people. The species account in BNA (available only with a subscription) tells a lot of interesting facts about these doves. I was aware of their pyramid roosting to combat cold, but I did not know their metabolic rate is about 20% less than most passerines, which seems to help them cope with the hot environments in which they live and would indicate why they might be more sensitive to cold.

Such a sweet little dove--I hope you are able to enjoy them in your yard too.

Good birding!

Inca Doves

Photo of Inca Dove from Wikimedia Commons, taken by Clinton and Charles Robertson.


The tiny Inca dove is one of my favorites and I have been discouraged that I have been seeing so few of them lately. Bob Lindsay of Wild Bird Rescue tells me he has several that regularly come to the feeders there, but to me it seems we are seeing fewer in our area all the time.





I had a pair of Inca that were visiting the yard, but I hadn't seen them since last winter. Yesterday, I looked out the window to check my feeders, and there they were. On the ground, eating away. Of course, there is no way to know if these are the same birds, but I was thrilled to see them anyway.





I have rarely heard an Inca dove call and I have been able to find only one recording online. I usually hear them when they fly--their wings sound like dry leaves rustling. Although a pale gray when sitting, in flight they show russet colored feathers under the wing.

Good birding!

Inca Dove Question

The other day Bob, from Wild Bird Rescue asked me if Inca Doves migrate. I told him I didn't think they did, as I see them here in the winter regularly. However, the two that normally feed at my feeders haven't been seen in several weeks. Bob said the flock of a dozen he has a Wild Bird Rescue routinely has been down to two or three.

When I am not sure about a bird question, I go to my trusty "Birds of North America Online," a subscription service from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They have a free resource I frequently link to in this blog (All About Birds) but the BNA has a lot more information. Anyway, there is no indication in the literature about Inca Doves migrating, in fact, BNA indicates the doves tend to stay put year around. However, there is prominent discussion of cold sensitivity in Inca Doves. We are on the northern edge of the Inca Dove range, and it has been unusually cold for longer stretches than normal this winter. Perhaps our doves have been casualties of the weather. I would hate that to happen--these diminutive dove are not that common now.

I did find some interesting information about the Inca Dove on BNA. Doves are among the first and last babies we receive at Wild Bird Rescue--the Inca dove rears up to 5 clutches a season of 2 babies each. However, BNA also notes many broods are lost to storms, wind and rain. If you have ever seen a dove's nest, that's easy to believe.

A subscription to Birds of North America Online is $40 a year; $25 if you are a member of the Texas Ornithological Society (TOS) also.

Good Birding!

Bird Sounds

Birders often identify birds entirely or in part by sound. Although we tend to think of bird sounds as bird songs, there are other sounds which are distinctive to some species of birds that are not songs.

One sound I associate with fall is the sound of Inca Dove wings when they fly. It sounds like dry leaves rustling and is very distinctive. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any sound libraries that have captured this sound--they focus on calls. The Birds of North America Online (access available by subscription only) mentions this sound, but doesn't provide a recording. However, it does say the sound is produced by elongated 6th and 7th primary feathers and that immature birds produce less sound because only one primary is longer. If you're interested in a subscription to BNA, it is $40 a year; $25 a year if you are a member of the Texas Ornithological Society (TOS.) The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has the online Macaulay Library of sounds, but I haven't taken the time to listen to all of the available recordings to see if any capture the wing sound.

One non-song sound that these libraries do contain is of woodpeckers drumming. Different species of woodpeckers drum in differing rythyms, which can be used to identify woodpeckers in the field.

Speaking of sounds....Bob Lindsay of Wild Bird Rescue reports in his blog that he heard the distinctive calls of sandhill cranes at Lake Wichita this week.

Good birding!