Eared dove

The eared dove is a long bird.

It has black spots on its wings. It also has a black line by its eye. This mark looks like an ear.

These birds live in South America. They like open lands and fields. They also live near towns. Many doves sit on wires near people.

They find food on the ground. They eat seeds and grain. They sometimes eat small bugs too. They build nests in trees.

The birds lay two white eggs. The eggs hatch in about two weeks. They fly high and fast. They can live in large groups.

The eared dove is a long bird from South America.

Males have olive-brown feathers and black spots on their wings. They have a grey crown on their heads. A black line sits behind the eye. This mark looks like an ear. This is why they have their name.

These birds live in open areas like savannahs. They also live near people in big cities. They eat seeds and grain from the ground. They might also eat small things like snails or bugs.

Doves build small stick nests in trees. They lay two white eggs. The eggs hatch in 12 to 14 days.

Eared doves like to stay in large groups called flocks. In Argentina, there are millions of these birds. Some people call them palomas doradas. This means golden doves. It is because their feathers can shine. They fly high and very fast. Their flight has a steady beat. They can even fly in huge groups that darken the sky.

The eared dove is a special kind of bird from the New World.

These birds live in many places across South America. They can be found from Colombia all the way down to Chile. Some live on islands like Trinidad and Tobago too. They are close relatives of the mourning dove found in North America. This group of related birds is called a superspecies.

These birds have a very specific way they look. Adult males have olive-brown feathers on their top parts. They also have black spots on their wings. A black line sits behind their eye. This mark makes it look like they have an ear. This is how they got their name.

Their underparts are a pinkish color called vinous. Their tails even have a cinnamon color at the tips. The females look a bit duller than the males.

Finding food is a big part of how they live. Eared doves mostly eat seeds and grain from the ground. They like to eat things like wheat, rice, and corn. Sometimes they eat small animals like snails or caterpillars.

They often live in open areas called savannahs. They are also happy to live near people in big cities. In places like Bogotá, Colombia, they are seen in many public spaces. They build small stick nests in trees to lay two white eggs.

There are huge numbers of these birds in certain places. In the Córdoba region of Argentina, there are millions of them. Some experts think there are as many as 32 million doves there.

In Argentina, people call them palomas doradas. This means golden doves because their feathers can shine. In Bolivia, people use the Guaraní name totaky for them. Large flocks can sometimes be so big that they darken the sky.

Watching these birds fly is quite a sight. Their flight is very high, fast, and direct.

They move with a regular beat of their wings. They also perform a special display to show off. They climb steeply and then glide down in a circle. This is a way they interact with their world. You might see them sitting on telephone posts near your town.

The eared dove, known scientifically as Zenaida auriculata, is a New World dove species. These birds are important residents of South America, ranging from Colombia to southern Argentina and Chile. They also inhabit offshore islands from the Grenadines southward. Some scientists believe they may have recently colonized islands like Tobago and Trinidad. The eared dove is part of a superspecies. This group includes the North American mourning dove and the Socorro dove. The Galápagos dove may also be part of this group. While the Socorro dove comes from ancestral mourning doves, the Galápagos doves come from more ancient stock.

Physically, the eared dove has a long, wedge-shaped tail. Adult males possess olive-brown plumage on their upper parts. They also feature black spots on their wings. The head of a male has a grey crown and a black line behind the eye. There is also blue-black color on the lower ear coverts. These black markings are why the bird has its English and specific names. The underparts are vinous, which is a pinkish color. The tail is tipped with cinnamon. The bill is black and the legs are dark red.

Females and young birds look different from adult males. The female is generally duller in appearance. Immature birds are greyish-brown and look very dull. They often have pale barring on their feathers. The species makes a specific call that sounds like a deep, soft "oo-ah-oo."

These doves are often found in savannahs and open areas. They also live in cultivated lands and human habitats. You can see them on wires or telephone posts near towns in Venezuela and Trinidad. They inhabit almost all public spaces in large urban areas like Bogotá, Colombia. They even feed near beach resorts in Tobago. Their diet consists mainly of seeds and grain taken from the ground. During certain seasons, they may eat only agricultural plants. These include wheat, rice, sorghum, maize, and soybeans. They also eat seeds from common grasses like Echinochloa colona.

To supplement their diet, eared doves sometimes eat animal foods. This includes caterpillars, insect pupae, aphids, and snails. When they are not feeding, they are gregarious birds. This means they like to live in groups or flocks. They form large flocks during migration or at communal roosts. Their flight is high, fast, and direct. It features regular wing beats and occasional sharp wing flicks. They also perform a breeding display. During this display, the bird makes a steep climb and then a semicircular glide back to its perch.

Reproduction for the eared dove happens quite often. They build small nests made of sticks several meters up in trees. A female lays two white eggs in the nest. These eggs hatch in 12 to 14 days. After hatching, it takes about 9 days for the chicks to reach the fledging stage. In most of their range, there is no fixed breeding season. If they have plenty of food and habitat, they can breed almost continuously.

In some regions, the population of eared doves is enormous. In the Córdoba region of northern Argentina, there are massive numbers of these birds. Recent estimates suggest there may be 32 million doves in these fields. This scale of bird population is similar to the passenger pigeons of North America. However, the eared dove appears more resilient than the extinct passenger pigeon. In Argentina, they are called palomas doradas because their feathers can shine. In Bolivia, near the soy and sorghum plantations of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, they are called totaky.

Large-scale hunting occurs in these areas. In Córdoba, the doves do not migrate. Instead, huge flocks fly constantly between roosting woods and open fields. In Bolivia, the shooting is more seasonal from May to September. During this time, large flocks arrive from Argentina to feed on grain crops. These birds have shown a great ability to thrive in large feeding grounds. This resilience has allowed their populations to grow significantly in recent decades.