Birds flock to the shores of the Sahara Desert - © BBC

Eared Dove

Eared Dove - Spec. Name: Zenaida Auriculata

Eared Dove

This is a New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder throughout South America from Colombia to southern Argentina and Chile, and on the offshore islands from the Grenadines southwards. It may be a relatively recent colonist of Tobago and Trinidad. It appears to be partially migratory, but details are little known, although migration may be driven by food supplies.

It is a close relative of the North American Mourning Dove. With that species, the Socorro Dove, and possibly the Galápagos Dove it forms a superspecies. The latter two are insular offshoots, the Socorro birds from ancestral Mourning Doves, the Galápagos ones from more ancient stock.

The Eared Dove is 8 inches long with a long wedge-shaped tail, and weighs normally about 112 g. Adult males have mainly olive-brown upperpart plumage, with black spots on the wings. The head has a grey crown, black line behind the eye, and the blue-black on the lower ear coverts. These black markings give the species its English and specific name. The underparts are vinous, and the tail is tipped with cinnamon. The bill is black and the legs dark red.

Photograph taken in Lima, Peru © H.J. Ruiz - "My Winged Pals"

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