50 more urban species #11: Zenaida dove

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A zenaida dove, Zenaida aurita, incubates eggs on a nest on a light fixture on the garage.

Like its close relative the mourning dove, the zenaida dove has no qualms about nesting near human habitation. This bird, common throughout the Caribbean (national bird of Anguilla) carries out much of its activity around people. On our recent stay in Antigua we saw them drinking from a swimming pool, fighting on rooftops, and perched everywhere on eaves, ledges and ornamental plants. They eat seeds and the crumbs of human foods derived from seeds, and occasionally insects. Their cooing song makes for a pleasant morning wake up call.

This dove was named for the wife (and cousin) of naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (both could claim Emperor Napoleon as their uncle). There are six other doves with the Genus name Zenaida. This dove is usually called "turtle dove" on English speaking islands, or sometimes referred to as a "mourning dove." I saw three other dove species on Antigua (though Wikipedia claims there are nine total--more visits needed!): the much smaller ground dove, the larger white-crowned pigeon, and the feral rock pigeon.