White-winged Dove

IDENTIFICATION: A light brown, or gray-brown dove with red legs, a blue eye ring, and a striking white wing patch on the folded wing. Immature birds are duller and lack the blue eye ring. In flight, the wing patch is visible from far away. Length: 25-31cm.; weight: 125-187 g.

VOICE: The song has a variety of rhythms including "who cooks for you." Audio (M. Oberle).

HABITAT: Gardens, mangroves, and agricultural areas in moist zones of the island, but also common in dry scrub forest.

HABITS: Small flocks of this species forage on the ground and occasionally in trees for seeds and fruits. It is readily attracted to birdseed feeders, and will fight with other doves for the best feeding spots. The White-winged Dove sometimes flicks its tail upward repeatedly when scared or when agitated by a rival bird. The male incorporates tail-raising in its courtship display, and fans the tail open and closed quickly to impress the female. Both sexes share in building a flimsy stick nest, lined with bark and leaves. The female lays two creamy or white eggs, which both sexes incubate for about 14 days. Young fledge at 13-16 days, but often only one chick survives. As with many dove species, the White-wing can disperse widely, with flocks migrating between islands. One bird banded in Santa Isabel in southern Puerto Rico was shot on Vieques in the same year.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: A common, permanent resident of Puerto Rico. This species is expanding its range and reached Puerto Rico in the mid-20^th Century. It has benefited from agricultural alterations of the landscape. This is one of four species of doves legally hunted (September to November).

RANGE: Breeds from the southwestern USA, through Central America to Panamá; and in the southern Bahamas and Greater Antilles. A typical location to find this species is at Guánica state forest.

TAXONOMY: COLUMBIFORMES; COLUMBIDAE

Photo: A. Sßnchez Mu±oz


Photo: M. Oberle


Photo: M. Oberle

References

Bent, A.C. 1938. Life histories of North American gallinaceous birds. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 162. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

Bradley, P. and Y. Rey-Millet. 1985. Birds of the Cayman Islands. P.E. Bradley, George Town, Grand Cayman.

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1998. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 4. Sandgrouse to cuckoos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, and J. Cox. 2001. Pigeons and doves: A guide to the pigeons and doves of the world. Yale University Press.

Johnson, K. P., S. de Kort, K. Dinwoodey, A. C. Mateman, C. ten Cate, C. M. Lessells, and D. H. Clayton. 2001. A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba. Auk. 118(4):874-887.

Norton, R. L. 1986. First record of Purple-throated Carib for the Greater Antilles and notes on vagrants in the Virgin Islands. Carib. J. Sci 22(3-4):462-463.

Ortiz Rosas, P. 1981. Guía del cazador: aves de caza y especies protegidas. Depto. de Recursos Naturales, San Juan, PR.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Rivera-Milán, F.F. 1992. Distribution and abundance patterns of columbids in Puerto Rico. Condor 94:224-238.

Rivera-Milán, F.F. 1995. Spatial and temporal variation in the detectability and density of Columbids in Puerto Rico and on Vieques Island. Orn. Neotrop 6:1-17.

Rivera Milßn, F. F. 2001. Transect surveys of columbid nests on Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra islands. Condor 103:332-342.

Saliva, J.E. 1994. Vieques y su fauna: Vieques wildlife manual. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boquerón, PR.

Schwertner, T. W., H. A. Mathewson, J. A. Roberson, M. Small, and G. L. Waggerman. 2002. White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica). In The Birds of North America, No. 710 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

White-winged Dove, Spanish text

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