Bizarre Mourning Dove along the Delaware Bay in New Jersey (1 Viewer)

[The Scavenger]

Last week I was driving along the road to East Point Lighthouse along the Delaware Bay in New Jersey when I saw this very strange Mourning Dove. Sorry for the picture quality, major crops. The colors are accurate though, it was partly normal coloring, plus red & black. Anyone have any ideas? I thought staining of some sort could be explanation but how would it get stained 2 different colors on specific parts of its body? Or could it be some type of mutation?

 

[KenM]

Wow! 😮

 

[Butty]

Coloration looks pretty even, so plausibly aberrant plumage. Dramatic!
(Someone will use the word 'erythristic' in a while...)

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

The feet are the exact same red as the breast. That can't be natural. Somebody with a spray can?

 

[foresttwitcher]

Agree with Jeff, some strange people dye pigeons and tame doves for whatever twisted reasons, so why not Mourning Doves.

 

[The Scavenger]

Thanks for the input. As I said I'm in the staining camp, just can't come up with a scenario for it to occur. Someone gave me a contact at Cornell's Ornithology. Going to try there too. If I get a response I'll update.