The Zenaida Dove The Zenaida dove is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes doves and pigeons. It is the national bird of Anguilla, where it is commonly referred to as a turtle dove. This Dove is brown and can be found in open woodland and clearings in the Caribbean region. These birds can be seen in large numbers on most islands of the Caribbean. It is medium-sized and brown overall, with a purple gloss on the neck sides and black spots on the secondaries, rectrices, and below the ear coverts. It resembles the partly-sympatric Mourning (Zenaida macroura) and Eared (Zenaida auriculata) doves, but has a distinctive terminal white band on the outer secondaries, which is visible both when the wing is folded and when the wing is open. Its low-pitched, level cooing can be heard primarily at dawn. Zenaida Doves feed both in trees and on the ground for fruits and seeds and obtains salt from natural or artificial sources. The nest is placed in a tree or shrub or, where predators are few, in a rock crevice or directly on the ground. This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion. The population trend appears to be increasing and as a result the species is evaluated as Least Concern. The Zenaida dove is common to Union Island and is seen on most of our bird monitoring expeditions.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 14:51:09 +0000
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