Zenaida doves
Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura )
The mourning doves ( Zenaida ) are a genus of pigeons birds. To this genus six species are expected. They occur in North and South America. The genus was described in 1838 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who gave it to honor his wife Zénaïde the scientific name Zenaida.
Appearance
Mourning doves reach a body length of 26-30 centimeters. Most species have an inconspicuous, often brownish plumage with gray and pink shades. In many species are found on the wings of black and white spots. The largest species is the coast pigeon, which is slightly larger than a turtle dove. The coast pigeon differs in the number of tail feathers from the other species of this genus. She has only twelve tail feathers, while 14 tail feathers are characteristic of the other species. Most species occur only search for food on the ground. Deviating from the Galapagos dove, the day almost exclusively resides on the floor. It shows a total of pigeons very deviant appearance and looks more like a star than a pigeon.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution of mourning doves extends from North America to the far south of South America. Farthest to the north, the Mourning Dove is found, whose northern distribution limit is the southern Canada. The extinct in the wild Socorrotaube occurred on an island in the Revillagigedo Group off the Pacific coast of Mexico. She is there disappeared in the 1970s because it was hunted and decimated by introduced cats and rats. It is currently being bred in captivity, with the aim of they there to resettle as soon as the causes of their decline are eliminated. Farthest south is the ear spot pigeon occurs, which is home to, among others, in Chile and Argentina.
All species are inhabitants of open landscapes. For species living further north and south are migratory birds.
Behavior
The food spectrum of mourning doves includes seeds, berries, small fruit and green parts of plants. Animal food in the form of insects and other small invertebrates only plays a secondary role. Apart from the Galapagos dove mourning doves build their nests on trees and shrubs. The clutch consists of two eggs.
Species
The following types are counted among the mourning doves:
- Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura )
- Socorrotaube (Z. gray soni )
- Peru dove (Z. MELODA )
- Latticed Dove ( Z. auriculata )
- Coast dove (Z. aurita )
- White-winged Dove ( Z. asiatica )
- Galapagos Dove ( Z. galapagoensis )
System
Earlier, together with the passenger pigeon ( Ectopistes ) and the now defunct genus Zenaidura formed the mourning doves, the group of American turtledoves. The Peru dove has long been considered a subspecies of the white-winged dove. Only since 2000, there is scientific consensus that their species status due.