The ABA Blog

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

ABA Photo Quiz

ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 37

Answer

Bird Photo

Everyone who answered this quiz agreed that it was a dove. But then things became more complicated. In the ABA area, Mourning Dove is the most logical starting point, and it makes sense that this was the most frequent answer. But looking more closely, we see some things that aren't quite right. The underparts seem quite dark for a Mourning Dove. Furthermore, there is a small white patch in the wings that does not fit Mourning Dove. It also doesn't fit other regularly occurring species in the ABA area. Looking at a complete list of birds recorded in the ABA area, we see that one speices, the Zenaida Dove, does show this white patch to the base of the secondaries. Zenaida Doves are overall rather darker and shorter-tailed than Mourning Dove with a conspicuous white trailing edge to the secondaries.

While there are very few unequivocal records of Zenaida Dove in the ABA area (none since 3-6 May 2002, when recorded on Key Largo), there have been several sightings reported. This Zenaida Dove was photographed in Puerto Rico in February of 2006.

~~~~~~~~

The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the April Bird Photo Quiz—Zenaida Dove:

  1. Sarah DeViney, Jonesboro, AR
  2. Aaron Bilyeu, Placerville, CA
  3. Roberto Cavalieros, Brooklyn, NY
  4. Bill Maynard, Colorado Springs, CO
  5. Alan J. Knue, Seattle, WA
  6. Henry Wilton, Rutland, VT
  7. Aaron Hulsey, Smiths Grove, KY
  8. John Kuenzli, Columbus, OH
  9. Kyle Horner, Guelph, Ontario
  10. Alex Vinokur, Casselberry, FL
  11. Luke Seitz, Falmouth, ME
  12. Michael Miller, Chicago, Illinois
  13. Stephen Mitten, Belize City, Belize
  14. Oscar Johnson, Santa Barbara, CA
  15. Kai Reed, putney, Vt
  16. Enrique Zamora, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
  17. Jimmy Kirshberger, Liberty, IN
  18. Chris Warren, Fort Collins, CO
  19. Tim Avery, Salt Lake City, Utah
  20. Will Richardson, Truckee, CA
  21. Marcelo Brongo, Barcelona, Spain
  22. Marcel Gauthier, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, Canada
  23. Daniele Mitchell, Ottawa, Ontario
  24. Will Miller, Boise, Idaho
  25. Nick Anich, Ashland, WI
  26. Andy Bankert, Melbourne Beach, FL
  27. Robert Furrow, Cambridge, MA
  28. Aaron Boone, Columbus, Ohio
  29. Jessica Fischer-Smith, Lloyd Harbor, NY
  30. Elizabeth Kania, Lloyd Harbor, NY
  31. Seabrooke Leckie, Toronto, Ontario
  32. Nancy Chen, Cambridge, MA
  33. Dan Walker, Canyon, Texas
  34. Trey Barron, Amarillo, TX
  35. Kevin Kincaid, Indianapolis, IN
  36. Brad Wilkinson, Tallmadge, Ohio
  37. Kevin M. Hill, Phoenix, AZ
  38. Michael Woodruff, Spokane, WA
  39. Barb Duncan, Jefferson City, MO
  40. Benjamin Griffith, Merrimack, NH
  41. Joel Mundall, Loma Linda, CA
  42. Richard Hibpshman, Issaquah, WA
  43. Shaun Hicks, Morrisville, PA
  44. Rob Young, Alexandria, VA
  45. Matt Anthony, Bel Air, MD
  46. Steve Hampton, Davis, CA
  47. Timothy Baerwald, Eau Claire, Michigan
  48. Craig Bateman, Novi, MI
  49. Karen Rubinstein, New York, NY
  50. Brian Ahern, Tampa, FL.
  51. Yves Gauthier, Montreal, Qc, Canada
  52. Jim Mountjoy, Galesburg IL
  53. Gary W. Potter, Sanger, CA
  54. Jon Mundall, Connell, WA
  55. Alex Lin-Moore, Houston, TX
  56. Matthew Kenne, Algona, Iowa
  57. Karen Carlsen, Lakewood, CO
  58. Philip Chaon, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
  59. Heather Collins, West Berlin, VT
  60. Ben Young, Salem, OR
  61. Aaron Brees, Des Moines, Iowa
  62. Rich Swartzentruber, Salem, Oregon
  63. Jeffrey Gordon, DE
  64. Rachel King, Brooklyn NY
  65. Richard Green, Brooklyn NY
  66. Bertram E.B. BREE, Jersey Island, Near France
  67. Colin Woolley, Prescott, AZ
  68. Ben Coulter, Erie, PA
  69. Colin R. Gjervold, Saint Petersburg, FL
  70. Peter Osswald, Lindenhurst, N.Y.
  71. Neil A. Gilbert, Beverly Hills, Mi
  72. Mark Brown, Santa Maria, California
  73. Greg Gillson, Hillsboro, OR
  74. Matt Pike, Lacey WA
  75. Sam Smith, Austin.Tx.
  76. James McKay, Mesa, AZ
  77. Sam Attia, Calgary, Alberta
  78. Elaine F Lauer, Elk Grove, CA
  79. Hannah Nadel, Fresno, CA
  80. Ray Hasey, Yuba City, CA
  81. Micahel Hilchey, Albuquerque, NM
  82. Nila Petty, Saint Louis, MO
  83. Leighton Reid, Orange, VA
  84. Chris Sloan, Nashville, TN
  85. Adam Nisbett, St. James, MO
  86. Matthew Schneider, Silverton, OR
  87. Barbara Boucher Owens, Georgetown, TX
  88. Gerald J Brow, Cedar Michigan
  89. Robert Lengacher, Tallahassee, FL
  90. Chris Benson, Rochester, MN
  91. Erich Druskat, Las Cruces, New Mexico
  92. Josh Shramo, Dillon, CO.
  93. Adrian Azpiroz, St. Louis, MO
  94. Adriana Rodriguez, St. Louis, MO
  95. tim hochstetler, millersburg oh
  96. Blue Rubinstein, New York, NY
  97. Jim Kopitzke, Mesa AZ
  98. Michael Todd, McKenzie, TN
  99. Mary Austin, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  100. Francesc Jutglar, Cardedeu, Spain
  101. Jennifer Perry, Deerfield, NH
  102. Robert Doster, Albuquerque, NM
  103. James P. Smith, Amherst, MA
  104. Pilaiporn Mundall, Yilan, Taiwan
  105. Erik Mundall, Yilan, TAIWAN
  106. Malia Wenny, Galena, Illinois
  107. Jack Gibbons, Galena, IL
  108. Eddie Mundall, Klamath Falls, OR
  109. Glenn Werner, Beaufort, SC
  110. Haynes Werner, Beaufort, SC
  111. Robin Womack, Beaufort, SC
  112. Kathryn Holm, Tamuning, Guam
  113. Bobby Walsh, Valencia, CA
  114. Marcus Mundall, Williamsport, MD
  115. Eleanor Murphy, Rockland,MA
  116. Laurina Mundall, Klamath Falls, OR

How Did You Compare?

As stated in the quiz rules, answers must consist simply of the Common or English name exactly as it appears in the ABA Checklist.

The following list shows the number of submissions for each species guessed.

Mourning Dove
245
Zenaida Dove
116
White-winged Dove
5
Ruddy Ground-Dove
3
Spotted Dove
3
White-tipped Dove
2
Common Ground-Dove
1
Eurasian Collared-Dove
1

~~~~~~~~

The photo and answer for this quiz were supplied by Chris Wood.