Yesterday, I noticed a couple of birds sitting quietly in the bird bath. At first, I thought they were baby mourning doves. When I photographed them and looked at the image I captured, I knew I had a different kind of dove. At home, we see plenty of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura). They have even discovered that they can swim in our backyard fountain. Those at the bird bath, I found out, are Inca doves (Columbina inca).
I searched online and learned the fundamental differences between mourning and Inca doves. Regarding their sizes, mourning doves are larger and about the size of a robin. On the other hand, Inca doves are smaller and slightly larger than a common ground dove. Another big difference is their color. Whereas a mourning dove has a brown body, blue-gray wings, and a long, pointed tail with white scallops on the edges, the Inca dove has a pale brown body with a “scaled” appearance due to dark brown feather edges. The Inca dove’s upper body is darker than the rest. It has a slender tail with white sides but lacks the white scallops of the mourning dove. If you click on the photos above, you can see those differences more clearly. iNaturalist has more information on the Inca dove and Mourning dove.
Amy
Both are lovely birds. Good to know the difference.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for your comment, Amy.
Tales From My Lens
I’ve always just called them Doves. I learned a lesson today! They sure are beautiful. I normally call them luver dovers because I see them in twos. Beautiful shots!
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad there was something new to learn.
Anne Sandler
Great information and images. It’s always nice to learn something in the morning.
Egídio Leitão
Anne, I second that! Thank you for the feedback.
Tranature - quiet moments in nature
Wonderful images Egidio 😊 I’d never seen an Inca dove before and what a beautiful bird it is 🧡
Egídio Leitão
Xenia, many thanks for the feedback. Until this week, I had never seen an Inca dove either. Today, they were on the patio again. I hope they keep coming back. I find them more beautiful than the mourning doves.
margaret21
A nice dilemma to have. Lovely birds both.
Egídio Leitão
Yes, they are indeed lovely. I find the Inca dove really cute. Thanks for your note.
Marie
OMG, I always thought they were morning doves. LOL.
Egídio Leitão
That’s funny. So many words in English sound alike. It’s no surprise.
Anonymous
I’ve never seen an Inca dove, so thanks for that. The scaly-looking feathers and tan colour are interesting. I understand that this bird of the central Americas is expanding northwards into the territory of mourning doves as it finds bird feeders.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for your feedback. If you follow the link to iNaturalist, you will see the Inca dove’s habitat extension.