Not A Mourning Dove

Zenaida Dove (photo by Dick Daniels via Wikimedia Commons)

Zenaida doves (Zenaida aurita) are near matches for mourning doves except they’re slightly smaller and darker, have shorter more rounded tails, and white trailing edges on their wings.  They live on Caribbean islands, including Cuba.  They are very rare in Florida (*).

These field marks would make for a subtle and complicated identification except that mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) don’t live at St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands — at least not in the southeast corner where I’m staying.

Interestingly, they sound just like morning doves so you could be fooled by their song.

 

(photo by Dick Daniels on Wikimedia Commons.  Click on the image to see the original)

(*) See Vincent Lucas’ comment below on Zenaida doves in Florida.

2 thoughts on “Not A Mourning Dove

  1. I have seen Zinaida Dove in the Florida Keys within the last decade. There has been more than one sighting as well in different recent years.

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