So far we’ve definitely seen Inca Doves in the game, and a few Mourning Doves. These shots from yesterday around 10:50 a.m. show what I’m thinking might a third species: the White-tipped Dove. These were taken by idbirds, rafa, and jamesflowers, respectively:
The checklist of Welder birds forwarded to me by Dr. Selma Glasscock doesn’t list White-tipped Dove at all, though the Sibley range map shows them as being at least close to Welder, and the articles I’ve read on John Rappole’s work refer to them as one of the species suspected of expanding their breeding range into this part of Texas. I’m curious what the rest of you think. In the meantime, check those doves! They aren’t all Incas.
Update: Dr. Selma Glasscock chimes in in the comments: This isn’t a White-tipped (she thinks Mourning Dove, probably), but White-tipped are at the refuge. So keep checking those doves.
Later update: Based on some later images (see More shots of the ‘mystery dove’), Dr. Glasscock has changed her mind, and says she now thinks these shots do show a White-tipped Dove. Yay!
Hmm. I was wondering what these were. Compared to all the pictures I can find of White-tipped Doves, these seem too dark and washed with gray, though that could be due to lighting. It does seem most likely though compared to all the other dove species.
These appear to be Mourning Doves. We do have White-tipped Doves on the Welder Refuge and I would suspect that you will see some. I’m not sure why the checklist didn’t include them. Perhaps I sent an older version. I’ll check again.
White-tipped Doves are considerably lighter in color and much chunkier. They remind me of a Mourning Dove that is on a weight-lifting program! They prefer to feed off the ground so look for them under the bird feeders.
Ah, okay. Sorry for sowing confusion. I was hesitant to call this a Mourning Dove because of what looked like a squared-off, too-short tail in the second and third shots. But looking at it again, I can see that White-tipped is even more problematic.
Thanks!