White-winged Dove

Description:

A little larger than the mourning dove; generally brownish gray above and a paler gray below; white ends on the greater coverts form prominent patches on the wings, contrasting sharply with the blackish flight feathers; blackish square-ended tail with prominent white terminal band. Prominent black crescent framing lower edge of auricular. On perched bird, wing patch shows only as a thin white line along the leading edge of the folded wing. Adult male: grayish or grayish brown head and neck, with neck and breast washed lightly with pink; iris reddish brown; orbital skin bright blue; bill black; and feet bright red. Adult female: similar to male. Juvenile: paler on the head; narrow pale gray fringes on the scapulars and wing coverts.

Habitat:

Wildlife habitat yard.

Notes:

Originally a bird of desert thickets, the White-winged Dove has become a common sight in cities and towns across the southern U.S. In the Sonoran Desert, nesting White-winged Doves eat mostly the nectar, pollen, fruit, and seeds of the saguaro cactus. They’re so dependent on the saguaro they time their migration and nesting to match its fruiting schedule. Saguaro seeds are the only small seeds that a White-winged Dove will bother with—possibly because they sit in a large, cup-shaped fruit that makes them easy to eat. Like other doves and pigeons, White-winged Doves have some unusual abilities. They can suck and swallow water without moving their heads. And they use a secretion from the esophagus, known as crop milk, to feed nestlings. Both parents may consume snails and bone fragments to help their bodies create the nutritious fluid. Although the White-winged Dove is mostly resident in the Southwest, it is expanding its range, and individuals can be found far afield. White-winged Doves have been seen from Alaska to Ontario, Maine, Newfoundland, and most places in between. During the twentieth century, habitat loss and heavy hunting led to a serious drop in White-winged Dove populations in Texas—from as many as 12 million to fewer than 1 million by 1939. But with proactive management of hunting and the species’ ability to adapt to urban living, the population rebounded to some 2.2 million by