Love Peck is a photograph by Robert Bales which was uploaded on January 20th, 2014.
Love Peck
These are very common in our backyard and very helpful since they clean up the seeds from the bird feeder. Sometimes they are called Love... more
by Robert Bales
Title
Love Peck
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
These are very common in our backyard and very helpful since they clean up the seeds from the bird feeder. Sometimes they are called Love Birds!
Inca doves are tiny gray pigeon-like birds with long tails. Their outer tail feathers are white. They have rusty wing patches easily seen when they fly. Inca's have a distinctive fish scale pattern on their breast, head and back feathers.
This common Southwest species is one of the most desert-adapted of the family. Its plump body can survive both extreme heat and cold. They can go four or five days without drinking, and fly 10 or more miles to reach a water hole.
Their melodious "hoo hoo" repeated up to 30 times a minute fills the air during early summer. These doves are almost always seen in pairs. Their scaly appearance sets them apart from other small doves. In the winter, Inca doves gather in flocks of up to 50. On cold winter days they have been known to form pyramids 2 or 3 tiers high in order to stay warm.
During courtship, the male inca dove bows, coos and struts in front of the female, fanning his tail feathers. Males battle furiously for females. Dove nests are a flimsy basket of sticks barely woven together. Dove and pigeon nestlings are fed "pigeon milk" a high protein milky substance produced and regurgitated by their parents.
Inca doves seem to be increasing in areas of human disturbance. These seed-eating doves are common visitors to bird feeders. With their soft cooing calls, males strutting for females and their regular use of bird feeders, inca doves have quickly become back yard favorites.
A small tropical dove of arid areas, the Inca Dove has become a common resident of urban areas of the Southwest. It has expanded its breeding range northward and southward, but has remained attracted to towns and cities.
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January 20th, 2014
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Comments (12)
Jai Johnson
Congratulations! This image fits the theme of the Small Birds of the World Group for February, which is "Two or More", and is being featured on the Small Birds of the World Homepage http://fineartamerica.com/groups/small-birds-of-the-world.html for the entire month! Great work!
HH Photography
Pretty little birds that we don't have here in Florida. Nice capture of the little peck. L/tw
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks for the wonderful comment and the fine support. I think they are only in the far Southwest.