WHITE-WINGED DOVE 603 



decrease, we see no practical reason why it should not be kept on 

 the game list — with adequate restriction of hunting. But if the next 

 few years show notable diminution, the only fair thing will be for 

 the sportsmen of the state entirely to relinquish their claims on the 

 species, and join heartily with bird-lovers in securing complete pro- 

 tection for it. 



White-winged Dove 



MelopeUa asiatica trudeaui (Audubon) 



Other names — Sonora Dove; White-winged Wild Pigeon; Melopelia asiatica; 

 MelopeUa leucoptera. 



Description — Adults, bcth sexes: Top and back of head and hind neck, dull 

 grayish purple, most conspicuous in males; side of head, ashy brown; chin pearl 

 gray, blending into pale brown of throat ; streak below ear region black with 

 reflections of deep blue and purple; side of neck ashy brown with bronzy green 

 iridescence; "iris dark hazel; bill black; . . . bare orbital ring blue" (Brewster, 

 1883, p. 32); upper back light brown ; lower back and rump, dull bluish gray ; 

 upper tail coverts brownish gray, washed with blue; middle pair of tail feathers 

 browni, darkest toward base; rest of tail feathers dark bluish gray above (and 

 black beneath), becoming black subterminally (above), with broad white ends; 

 male distinguishable from female in having somewhat longer tail with broader 

 feathers and more white at ends; outer surface of closed wing (lesser and median 

 coverts and tertials) light brown, continuous with back in tone; greater coverts 

 bluish gray, with broad white outer margins and ends; primaries and their 

 coverts black, the former narrowly margined with white; secondaries black, 

 tipped narrowly with white ; under surface of wing and axillars plain bluish gray ; 

 throat, fore-neck and breast, pale brown, changing gradually into light bluish gray 

 on rest of under surface, palest on under tail coverts; legs [and feet?] "dull red" 

 (Brewster, loe. cit.). Males: Total length 11.90-12.54 inches (302-318 mm.) 

 (eight specimens from Arizona) ; folded wing 6.27-6.65 (159-169) ; bill along 

 culmen 0.81-0.91 (20.6-23.1) ; tarsus 0.95-1.04 (24.0-26.3) (ten specimens from 

 Arizona and California). Females: Total length 11.24-11.90 (285-302) (seven 

 specimens from Arizona) ; folded wing 5.78-6.30 (147-160) ; bill along culmen 

 0.83-0.90 (21.0-22.8) ; tarsus 0.91-0.99 (23.0-25.1) (eight specimens from Ari- 

 zona and California). Juvenile plumage: Similar to that of adult but generally 

 paler, top of head lacking purple tinge^ streak below ear merely dusky, and chin 

 bare of feathers. 



Marks for field identification — Medium size, this dove being smaller than 

 either a Band-tailed or Domestic pigeon, but slightly larger than a Mourning 

 Dove; a conspicuous white area on wing, forming a longitudinal streak when 

 wing is closed and a distinct crescent when the wing is spread; tail square-ended, 

 with a white band across end (fig. 90). 



Voice — A frequently repeated hoarse co-c6-o-coTc'-co-cd-o (Oilman, 1911, p. 52; 

 Grinnell, 1914b, p. 123). 



Nest — Placed most often in mesquite, but also in willows and other trees and 

 shrubs; at varying heights from four to twenty-five feet (1.22-7.60 meters) 

 though usually about ten feet (3.04 meters) above gi-ound; a crude structure of 

 twigs resembling that of the Mourning Dove but larger (Oilman, 1911, pp. 53-54). 



