Order COLUMBIFORMES 



Family COLUMBIDAE: Pigeons and Doves; Palomas y Tortolitas 



Members of this family, found widely throughout the temperate and 

 tropical regions of the world, are absent only in the Arctic and Ant- 

 arctic. Their greatest abundance in number of species is in the broad 

 area between India and Australia. Pigeons vary in size from large to 

 tiny, but all are heavy-bodied birds with small heads and short legs. 

 Many are resident, though often such species shift about seasonally, 

 moving to regions where seeds or berries are locally attractive. Some, 

 as the races of mourning dove of northern North America, leave the 

 northern third of the breeding range to move south, some even into 

 the Tropical Zone. In the tropics of the Indo-Malayan region and the 

 Pacific Islands species of this family with plumage variegated with 

 green, orange, and red are frequent. Those found in Panama are 

 plain in color. The 23 species recorded on the Isthmus include several 

 that are regarded as game and are sought for sport and for food. 



KEY TO SPECIES OF COLUMBIDAE 



1. Tail feathers narrow, slender, graduated in length, pointed at the end. 



Mourning dove, Zenaidura macroura, p. 21 

 Tail feathers broad, only slightly graduated, not pointed at the end 2 



2. A prominent white band on the wing. 



White-winged dove, Zenaida asiatica australis, p. 18 



No prominent white band on the wing 3 



3. Smaller, wing less than 120 mm 4 



Larger, wing more than 130 mm 7 



4. Tip of outer primary distinctly narrowed 5 



Tip of outer primary not distinctly narrowed 6 



5. Under tail coverts white or buffy white. 



Maroon-chested ground-dove, Claravis mondetoura mondetoura, p. 35 

 Under tail coverts gray (males), or cinnamon-brown (females). 



Blue ground-dove, Claravis prctiosa, p. 33 



6. Under wing coverts cinnamon-brown, without black; smaller. 



Plain-breasted ground-dove, Colnmbina minuta elacodes, p. 30 

 Under wing coverts partly cinnamon-brown, partly black; larger. 



Ruddy ground-dove, Columbina talpacoti, p. 26 



7. Outer primary decidedly narrowed at tip 15 



Outer primary not abruptly narrowed at tip 8 



8. Middle toe and claw longer than tarsus 9 



Middle toe and claw equal to tarsus, or shorter 18 



