White-winged Dove

LC - Least Concern

N5 - Secure

not listed

White-winged Dove is a medium sized, 10″ to 11½″ long bird with a wingspan of 19″ to 22¾″. It weighs 5 to 5.3 ounces. Males and females are similar in appearance and cannot be reliably distinguished in the field.

The head and back, are mostly brownish-gray. The rump is not white. The belly and undertail coverts are gray.

The top of the head, neck, and nape show some iridescent purple. The eyes have red irises and are surrounded with a pale blue eye ring. There is a long dark “ear spot” on the lower face.

The upper side of each wing is brownish-gray at the base, with very dark outer wing feathers. A bright, white, crescent-shaped patch separates the two areas. When perched, the wing patch is always visible as a ⅜″ (1 cm) wide strip on the lower edge of the wing. This is the feature that gives the dove its common name and distinguishes it from all other New World doves. There are no black spots on the wing. The underside of the wing is gray.

The tail is rounded. The upper side is brownish-gray in the center. The tail feathers are dark with a black subterminal band and a white terminal band. The underside of the tail is gray.

The legs and feet are pinkish-red.

10″ to 11½″ in length

19″ to 22¾″ wingspan

Desert thickets, agricultural fields, residential areas in cities and towns

Seeds and fruits of trees, grasses, and other plants, including agricultural crops and garden plants.

Year-round resident in southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Rare and accidental visitor to Minnesota.

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

The current subdivision by many of the family Columbidae into five subfamilies has been shown by DNA analysis to be incorrect. For this reason, most sources do not include the subfamily when listing the taxonomic tree for doves.

… a rare visitor to Minnesota.

I found it in an ash tree right outside our house in Red Wing in June 2020. First reported instance in Goodhue County.

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Location: Red Wing, MN

… a rare visitor to Minnesota. I found it in an ash tree right outside our house in Red Wing in June 2020. First reported instance in Goodhue County.