Scientific Name: Columbina inca

Residency: Year-round in southwestern Arizona.

Diet: Fruit, grain and weed seeds (will visit seed feeders on the ground). May feed alongside poultry. May gather in large flocks in good feeding areas. Inca Doves huddle in stacks, a behavior known as ?pyramid roosting?. A pyramid may be three levels high and include twelve doves.  

Predators:  Domestic cats stalk adults and eat eggs. Great-tailed Grackles and Blue Jays take eggs.  This bird is a major part of the Cooper's Hawk diet.

Nesting: Male and female build a platform nest, constructed of loose twigs, grass and leaves. Lays two white eggs per clutch (2-3 broods per year).

Nesting Records:

Notes: The Inca Dove population is increasing in the United States. It thrives in an arid environment - it is now common in urban areas in the Southwest. This species will reuse the nests of larger doves such as Mourning Doves.

Photo: Photo at right was taken at the Watt Preserve on January 2, 2007.

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