Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita (Temminck, 1809))
Scientific name: Zenaida aurita (Temminck, 1809)
Common name: Zenaida Dove
French name: Tourterelle à queue carrée
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Size: Body size: 28 to 30 cm; Wingspan: 36 to 41 cm; Weight: 150 to 160g.
Habitat: Open areas, meadows, bushes, gardens.
Food: Seeds, fruits and some insects picked up on the ground.
Nesting: The nest is a rough shallow platform made up with twigs and grasses. There can be two broods of two eggs per year, between March and October.
Migration: Sedentary.
Geographic area: The Caribbean and the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The upper side of the body, the wings and the tail are brown with some blackish blue marks and a white bar on the wings.
The head and the neck are a paler brown colour. There is a small blue streak below the eye on each side of the head and a metallic purple sheen lower at the base of the neck.
The chest is pinkish and the plumage is much paler on the under side of the body.
The tail, in flight, shows a black bar and a white border.
The legs are purple red.
The bill is blackish with a reddish purple line near the base.

Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) - Les Saintes, Archipel Guadeloupe, France - February 25th 2010
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Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
I had some difficulties to take pictures of this Zenaida Dove as it was coming too close to me.
This is usually the contrary with birds, they are always too far.


Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) - Les Saintes, Archipel Guadeloupe, France - February 25th 2010
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Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
I have observed many Zenaida Doves during my short stay in Guadeloupe.
This is a beautiful bird with a nice metallic purple sheen on the sides of the neck.


Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) - Martinique, France - April 13th 2018
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Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
I observed this Zenaida Dove close to the Diamond Beach.


Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) - Martinique, France - April 13th 2018
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Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
The Zenaida Doves of Martinique are no more shy than those of Guadeloupe and you also have to step back to bring them into the frame.


Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) - Martinique, France - April 15th 2018
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Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
Here is a photo that shows the beautiful colour gradient from the chest to the white underside of the body.

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