June 2021 Photo Quiz

Tony Leukering
Fairborn, OH
greatgrayowl@aol.com

This month’s quiz bird is obviously some sort of pigeon/dove thing. Certainly, those reddish-pink legs are typical of the group. While that leg color is typical of ABA-Area doves and pigeons, it does rule out Band-tailed Pigeon with its bright yellow legs. At least a couple other ABA-Area pigeons are ruled out by those species’ dark coloration. Given our viewing angle, some may have difficulty figuring this dove out. I will also add a couple of cautions. Juvenile Eurasian Collared-Doves lack the collar typical of older individuals of the species. This bird’s right wing edge is mostly hidden beneath its side feathers, and that might be important when considering one particular species.

With the exclusions we made above, what do you consider to be the important points at distinguishing the various… dove-colored doves/pigeons with the view we have?

What species is represented here?

Photos and answers are supplied by Tony Leukering, a field ornithologist based in southeast Colorado, with strong interests in bird migration, distribution, and identification. He has worked for five different bird observatories from coast to coast and considers himself particularly adept at taking quiz photos (that is, bad pictures!). Leukering is a member of the Colorado Bird Records Committee and had been a reviewer for eBird since its inception. He is also interested in most everything else that flies, particularly moths and odonates.