D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
October 2010
Just Like the White-winged Dove
In our corner of the Southwest, the song it sounds like she's singing — whoo... whoo... whoo... — is a familiar one.
Story and photos by Jay W. Sharp
Over the past few decades, the White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) has expanded its presence in the United States considerably, spreading from its historical southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas range eastward across the Gulf Coast states and northward to the Texas Panhandle and into Oklahoma and Kansas. It has, according to Birds of North America Online, even put in appearances, in the northwest, as far away as Alaska; in the north, as far away as Montana; and in the northeast, as far away as Nova Scotia. It has been attracted, apparently, to the grain crops of new agricultural fields and to the ornamental trees, gardens and backyard feeders in expanding urban home developments. From firsthand experience, I can testify that the White-winged Dove holds well-attended, gleeful parties at the feeders and birdbaths in the backyards of homes in southwestern New Mexico.
 |
Pair of White-winged Doves in top of a honey mesquite. |
The White-wing, a large, relatively thick-bodied dove, measures about a foot in length, including its beak and tail feathers, and its wings span about 20 inches, tip to tip. It weighs about six ounces.
While there is variation among individuals, the bird typically has grayish-brown color across its back and throat and a more grayish color on its breast. Its head has a black beak, reddish-orange eyes, bright blue featherless eye patches, and black cheek patches. The male may have a faintly iridescent reddish-purple crown and neck. Its wings, as the name suggests, have distinctive white epaulets, which are clearly visible when the bird is at rest or in flight; its wing tips may have a darker gray color. It tail may be rounded, squared-off or slightly forked, with feathers often tipped in white. It has reddish to purplish feet.
The bird issues urgent but mournful calls that sound like, according to some descriptions, "Who-cooks-for you," or "whoo, hoo, hoo-oo," repeated again and again. The White-wing Dove's haunting call moved songwriter and singer Stevie Nicks to liken the bird to "a spirit that is leaving a body," she told Rolling Stone in 1981. In "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White-winged Dove)," her lyrics were:
"Just like the white-winged dove...
Sings a song...
Sounds like she's singing...
Whoo... whoo... whoo..."
Distribution, Habitat and Migrations
Southward, beyond its US range, the White-wing, with some one-dozen subspecies, occupies virtually all of Mexico, parts of Central America and several islands in the Caribbean Sea. It thrives in a diversity of habitats.
On the Wings of a Dove
|
In our Chihuahuan Desert basins in southwestern New Mexico, for instance, it favors thickets of honey mesquite, acacia and cacti and streamside growths of cottonwoods, willows and the invasive tamarisk or salt cedar. Well-adapted to the desert, the bird can survive for several days without drinking, and it may fly 20 miles or more to reach water.
In our mountain ranges, where it makes summertime appearances, according to the National Forest Service, it turns up in the Gambel oak/pion pine/one-seed juniper woodlands in the lower elevations and even in the ponderosa pine forests in the higher elevations.
In our agricultural areas, especially near fields with cereal crops, it may occur in high numbers along tree-lined irrigation channels and drainages. Near pecan-processing plants, it may gather in dense, gregarious flocks to scavenge among discarded pecan hulls.
In well-established residential neighborhoods, the White-wing makes itself especially at home, perching in trees and on fences, watering at fountains and sprinkler systems, dining in gardens and feeders, and sometimes even peering in through windows and sliding-glass doors. White-wings have even nested in our house gutters, above the downspouts, fully exposed to the desert sun.
The White-winged Dove remains year-round in some parts of south-central and southwestern New Mexico — for instance, along the Rio Grande from Las Cruces to the Mexican border and in the Potrillo Volcanic Field west of Las Cruces and El Paso. It heads south for the winter, however, from other parts, such as the Gila Wilderness, leaving in flocks in September and returning in the spring.
Diet
The White-winged Dove feeds primarily on seeds and fruits. It favors, for instance, the seeds of acacia, sunflowers, desert willows and various grasses in the desert basins. It feasts on cereal crop grains, which may comprise the majority of its diet. It feeds on the fruits of the ocotillo and the cacti, especially the "tuna" of the prickly pears. It treats a freshly-stocked backyard bird feeder as an avian gourmet delight.
In the Sonoran Desert, it takes much of its diet from the fruit of the saguaro cactus, possibly even timing its migration and nesting patterns to capitalize on the seasonal production of the plant. It returns the favor by helping spread the seeds of the saguaro, delivering them in its droppings.