Baby Inca Doves
by Robert Bales
Title
Baby Inca Doves
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
Found the nest in my neighbor's yard and this was the last day that they were in the nest.
These are very common in our backyard and very helpful since they clean up the seeds from the bird feeder. Sometimes they are called Love Birds!
Inca doves are tiny gray pigeon-like birds with long tails. Their outer tail feathers are white. They have rusty wing patches easily seen when they fly. Inca's have a distinctive fish scale pattern on their breast, head and back feathers.
This common Southwest species is one of the most desert-adapted of the family. Its plump body can survive both extreme heat and cold. They can go four or five days without drinking, and fly 10 or more miles to reach a water hole.
Their melodious "hoo hoo" repeated up to 30 times a minute fills the air during early summer. These doves are almost always seen in pairs. Their scaly appearance sets them apart from other small doves. In the winter, Inca doves gather in flocks of up to 50. On cold winter days they have been known to form pyramids 2 or 3 tiers high in order to stay warm.
During courtship, the male inca dove bows, coos and struts in front of the female, fanning his tail feathers. Males battle furiously for females. Dove nests are a flimsy basket of sticks barely woven together. Dove and pigeon nestlings are fed "pigeon milk" a high protein milky substance produced and regurgitated by their parents.
Inca doves seem to be increasing in areas of hman disturbance. These seed-eating doves are common visitors to bird feeders. With their soft cooing calls, males strutting for females and their regular use of bird feeders, inca doves have quickly become back yard favorites.
A small tropical dove of arid areas, the Inca Dove has become a common resident of urban areas of the Southwest. It has expanded its breeding range northward and southward, but has remained attracted to towns and cities.
The Inca Dove (Columbina inca) is a small New World dove; it might belong to the genus. It ranges from the southwestern United States and Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica; the Inca Dove only lives on the Pacific side of Central America. Despite being named after the Inca Empire, this species does not occur in any of the lands that constituted that region. Inca Doves are common to abundant within their range and they are expanding their range north and south.
Inca Doves reach a length of 16.5�23 cm and weigh 30�58 g. They are slender, with a gray-brown body covered in feathers that resemble a scaled pattern. The tail is long and square, edged with white feathers that may flare out in flight. In flight, the underwing is reddish, like other ground doves, and on takeoff, the wings produce a distinctive, quiet rattling noise.
This is a terrestrial species which occurs in flocks in open areas including scrub and cultivation. It will feed in urban areas, eating grass seeds and taking advantage of the ready availability of water from agricultural and suburban irrigation. The song, a forceful cooing rendered variously as "cowl-coo" or "POO-pup", may be given from a tree, wire, or other open, high perch such as a television aerial.
A pair of Inca Doves nesting
During winter, they roost in communal huddles in a pyramid formation that helps them conserve heat. These pyramids can contain up to 12 birds.[3]
Inca Doves live near areas of human habitation and feed in opens areas such as lawns and barnyards. They build their nests primarily in trees and shrubs. The male gathers the nesting material and presents it to the female, who also gathers some nesting material. The nest is composed of twigs, grass, and leaves and becomes reinforced with the brood's excrement.
Uploaded
March 3rd, 2014
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Viewed 3,264 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/24/2024 at 6:49 PM
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Comments (48)
Barbie Corbett-Newmin
Congratulations; your beautiful work is featured on the home page of the Over 3000 Views group. Thanks for sharing this popular beauty. Please archive it to make it available for future buyers' consideration by posting your feature in the Featured Images Archive discussion thread and any other appropriate promotional discussion threads ie sold group images etc. Thanks for sharing this popular beauty! Congratulations! Your very lovely and colorful photoart has been featured on the home page of the Over 3000 Views group. Please archive it in the appropriate discussions.lf
Joyce Dickens
This is so sweet Robert; they are beautiful and I will be nominating this work for a special feature in the 1000 Views on 1 image group for a special feature.. :-)))
Anita Faye
Robert, delightful little family! Featured on Poetic Poultry Group! https://fineartamerica.com/groups/poetic-poultry-.html
William Tasker
Very cool image and find, Robert! That middle one looks rather intense! Your beautiful image has been featured by Wild Birds Of The World, a nature photography group. L/F
Cheryl Rose
This is a wonderful composition, Robert! Beautiful texture and colors ... and capture of these pretty doves! LFP
Michael Mazaika
Don't know how you do this, Robert, but you are a well-skilled photographer. - Mike (V)
Robert Bales replied:
I was luck on this one! I took it our of a widow in the motor home. Thanks for the vote and nice comment!!