UPDATE: (11/4/08) Thanks to KatDoc for catching my mistake! I'll have to admit, I'd never seen a white-winged dove before. And while I wondered why it looked different than the other mourning doves I'd seen (and found in my Texas Birds field guide), I went with the info I had and relied on the blue eye-ring to identify the photos. Looks like I now get to add White-winged Dove to my life list!
In the meantime, I've added below a picture of what I think is really a Mourning Dove — taken, coincidentally, at lunch today — followed by the relabeled original images.
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
(Click any image to enlarge)For some much more professional bird photos, check out Bird Photography Weekly #10.
10 comments:
The shadows and expression certainly live up to the name.
Great photos of the dove.
Please forgive the correction, Kyle, but isn't that a White-winged Dove? We don't have them in Ohio, but your photo doesn't look like MODO to me, it looks more like WW Dove. It has more blue around the eyes than a Mourning Dove would have, plus the white on the leading edge of the wings, which is not typical of Mourning Dove.
Here is a link to White-winged Dove on the Cornell site; be sure to click to enlarge Kevin Karlson's photo.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/White-winged_Dove.html
~Kathi
PS: And the red eye; MODO's have dark eyes.
~K
Whether it's a Mourning or White-wing, they are beautiful pictures.
Mourning Doves are so common, sometimes I forget how gorgeous they are! Great shots!
Sorry about the homecoming loss. :-(
Hey Kyle,
They are, as KatDoc noted, White-winged Doves - and absolutely beautiful photos of them at that!
Well done!!!
KatDoc and Christopher, thanks for the correction! I'd never seen a white-winged dove before, and it is not in either of the field guides I normally keep in the car (both of which are Texas-specific guides). So I went with the closest match I could find, and the only one that mentioned the blue eye-rings. Looking at the descriptions and pictures of the White-winged Doves, I definitely made a big mistake in identification!
Good part about it is that I get to add the White-winged Dove to my life list. And, in a lucky coincidence, I spotted what I'm pretty sure really IS a Mourning Dove at lunch today. Added that photo with a correction to the post above.
Thanks again for the help! I'm learning from all of you, if a bit slowly at times.
Glad to be of help! In my rush to correct your ID of the White-winged Dove, I forgot to say what beautiful photos they are. And yes, the other dove is a Mourning Dove. They don't really get the respect they deserve, do they?
WW Dove would be a Lifer for me, too. Glad you got to add another notch to your birding belt.
~Kathi
Great pictures Kyle :) A White-winged Dove would be a lifer for me too.
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