INCA DOVE GALLERY
(Columbina inca)
eBird describes the Inca Dove as follows: Tiny dove. Very long tail with obvious white outer tail feathers. Scaly pattern covers entire body, unlike Common Ground Dove. Found in neighborhoods and arid areas. Listen for soft whistle, saying “no-hope.” Sounds like a rattlesnake when it takes off. All About Birds offers this additional descriptive information about the Inca Dove: The tiny Inca Dove is covered in tan scaly-looking feathers and blends right in with its suburban desert habitats. That is, until it bursts into flight, making a dry rattling whir with its wings while flashing chestnut underwings and white in its tail. It nods its head forward and back with each step and coos a mournful “no hope” from the trees. In recent years, this dove has expanded to the north and is now being seen as far north as Colorado, perhaps due to increased human settlement.
I identified my first Inca Dove on April 16, 2020, near the blind to the north of the parking area at Crescent Bend Nature Park. When I took my picture, I thought it was a Mourning Dove, but, upon closer examination, saw the telltale scaly pattern and the long tail with white outer feathers.
Inca Dove “Cool Facts” From All About Birds…
- Some birds seem to tolerate seriously cold temperatures, but not the Inca Dove. When the temperature drops to around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, these southern doves get cold and take action, huddling together in the sunshine to stay warm. Sometimes they even sit on top of each other, forming a dove pyramid up to 3 doves high—a behavior called “pyramid roosting.”
- Most birds have an oil gland at the base of their tail called the uropygial gland. They use the oils produced by this gland to keep their feathers in tiptop shape. Doves lack these glands and instead use powder produced by their down feathers for the same purpose.
- Inca Doves, like other doves, feed their young “pigeon milk” or “crop milk.” Both males and females produce this substance in their crops (the pouch just above the stomach that birds use to store food). The walls of the crop swell with fat and proteins until the cells in the crop wall begin shedding, producing a nutritious, milky-colored secretion. Despite its appearance, it’s not related to the milk produced by mammals.
- The oldest recorded Inca Dove was at least 10 years, 10 months old when it was caught and killed by a cat in Texas in 1989. It had been banded in the same state in 1979.
- The eyes of an Inca Dove may give away what it is feeling. Inca Doves have red eyes, but their red eyes become even brighter when they are threatened by an intruder.