From Opus

Columbina talpacoti

Photo by Robert_Scanlon
Photographed in Panama.

[edit] Identification

17cm . Adult males have a pale grey head and neck, and rufous upperparts, black-spotted on the wing coverts. The underparts are paler brown, the tail is edged black, and the underwings are cinnamon and black. The female is grey-brown rather than rufous, and has less contrast between head and body than the male.

[edit] Distribution

Southern Mexico to Mar del Plata, Argentina, as well in some Caribbean Islands, including Trinidad and Tobago.

[edit] Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognized^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Scrub and open country, including cultivation.

[edit] Behaviour

It builds a solid cup-shaped stick nest in a tree and lays 2 white eggs. Incubation is 12–13 days with another 12–14 days to fledging. There may be a second or third brood.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019

• List of references

[edit] External Links