ML31829881

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - X

Media notes

This Inca Dove, photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 24 July 2016 along the Santa Ana River just east of Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside County, California, was initially reported at this site by Jon Feenstra on 14 July 2016.

Observation details

Shortly after we arrived in the vicinity of the eastern end of the sewage treatment plant, Howard began hearing the distinctive song of the continuing bird that was initially reported by Jon Feenstra on 14 July. With some effort I eventually spotted this bird as it perched in a cottonwood tree along the bike trail, where it remained for a few minutes before flying off. In addition to the distinctive, “no hope” song, this bird also gave the two-noted call over an extended period of time, and in fact, we again heard this bird singing on our return some time later. This was a conspicuously small dove with a relatively long, slim tail. More specifically, this bird had a relatively short, slim bill that tapered little before ending in a blunt tip. It also had a steep forehead and a gently rounded crown that was more rounded at its junction with both the forehead and nape. The head seemed small relative to the body, the neck was short and inconspicuous, and the body was plump and with an upright posture. I failed to notice the placement of the wingtips relative to the tail, but I was able to see that the primary projection was quite short and that the wingtips were rounded. The tail appeared to be about as long as the head and body combined, it was slim throughout its length, and it seemed to taper to a blunt tip. The short legs were largely obscured by the belly feathers, but I was able to see the toes. This bird was a light, chalky-gray color overall, with the head and neck at best weakly marked, yet I noted quite clearly narrow but well-defined bands of dusky coloration at the tips of many if not most of the wing coverts, which resulted in the bird having a scaly appearance to the wings. When this bird stretched its wings, I was able to see that the tips of the primaries were blackish, yet there was quite a bit of rufous coloration basally on at least the outer primaries. The underparts were similar in color to the upperparts, though seemingly a little paler and less conspicuously barred (though I did see at least some dark barring on the belly and flanks). I also noted that the underside of the tail was extensively white, but it was difficult to be sure if this white was restricted to the outer rectrices. The bill was entirely gray, but a somewhat paler gray basally and more of a slate-gray distally. I noted at least some orange color in the irides and that the toes were pink.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

500

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

2150 pixels x 1419 pixels

Original file size

699.19 KB