Inca Dove
Columbina inca
(Scardafella inca)
Photo taken in Phoenix, AZ, Jan 2003.
Even though these birds are very familiar in all of Arizona's desert cities, they are absent from natural desert areas. They are dependent upon the watered lawns and agriculture that people create. The long dark tail has white outer feathers and there is a rich tawny patch in each wing. Also the back and chest have a unique scalloped pattern.
Through the hot summer days they seem never to stop calling their plaintive, two-note coo. One very hot day a few years ago (temp > 45°C) I found quite a number of incas dead apparently from heat exhaustion.