The Ruddy Mourning Dove

Our rufous colored mourning dove.

A rufous colored mourning dove has been hanging around our house lately, helping itself to a suet block we leave on the ground.  I've never seen a mourning dove this color, so it must be some sort of abnormality.  I did quite a bit of research to determine just what the bird is, but the closest I could come up with, other than a ruddy-colored mourning dove, is an extinct species called Socorro dove.  Fortunately, the Socorro dove is not extinct from our planet--yet--but hasn't been seen in the wild, including its native habitat, the Island of Revillegigedo, Socorro off the western coast of Mexico, since 1972.  Cats have been blamed for much of the species decline.  Revillegigedo, by the way, was declared a biosphere reserve in 1994 and efforts are planned to eliminate the predatory mammals so that captive-bred Socorro doves can be reintroduced.


Discovering this dark shaded mourning dove has been exciting.  For a moment, I imagined that I saw the zenaida version of an ivory-billed woodpecker.   The sighting got my heart-rate up, and I felt the adrenaline rush of sheer thrill. 

I never know what will show up in our backyard.  Yesterday, the black-headed grosbeaks (both a male and a female) returned to feed on my hanging suet.  They have been annual visitors since 2010.   Keith and I always enjoy their vibrant rusty orange, black, and white colors.   The Bullock's oriole peeked in my bedroom window this morning, so I know at least one member of the Icterid family is still hanging around.  The white-winged doves have returned with a vengeance.  Last Friday, I heard the first of the season's lesser nighthawks trilling in the early dawn.  A pair of Gambel's quail are nesting inside our back courtyard under a woolly butterfly bush.  Their two chicks appear regularly and delight us with their tiny, fuzzy, speediness.  In our front yard, I regularly hear the baby curved-billed thrashers sing a chorus when mama shows up with dinner.  Just outside our kitchen window, Lady Dove successfully fledged two babies.  They left the nest a few days ago.  Now, Lady Dove is back in her nest, after Laddie Dove made some hasty repairs.  I noticed one white egg in that nest just yesterday.  Don't these birds take a break from parenting?


A regular morning dove feeds near the cinnamon-colored one. 

What's up?