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CAN YOU IMAGINE A FLOCK OF TWO BILLION BIRDS?

THESE HOLY BIRDS HAVE BEEN ON EARTH 12,000 YEARS.

 By Neil Stalter

 

Noah, eager to learn if the great floods had receded, released a bird to test the landscape. If it came back, that would signal it was still unsafe to depart the ark. If the bird did not return, it had found food and the waters had subsided.

It has lived on earth for at least 12,000 years. Egyptians used it in sacrificial rituals – Ramses II claimed to have once offered 58,810 of them to the gods. Greeks and Romans set this species high in the orbit of gods of love and marriage. Beauty of the same bird’s eyes are celebrated in the Song of Solomon.

In Christian tradition, the bird holds a revered place as the universal symbol of the Holy Spirit. Its role in religions and cultural traditions around the world – from Western ancients to Eastern peoples of India, Indonesia and China -- is bountiful.

As late as the mid-19th century, one species of this bird was thought to be the most abundant* on the continent. At Grand Harbor, we can find as many as five different versions of this bird family (of 14 worldwide). They are quiet, unassuming, easygoing, somewhat under-dressed and embraced by all bird lovers.

Meet the Dove family.

Its five representatives among us start with two pictured in the Grand Harbor Pocket Guide: Mourning Dove and Ground Dove. They look and act alike, although the Mourning Dove is more plentiful and at 12” length about twice the size of the Ground Dove. Both stay year-round and both are “native species.” Colorations for both are a mix of browns and grays with spots of black and white. The Mourning Dove is famed for its doleful coo-ing and gentle daytime hooting, drawn out and almost owl-like. The smaller Ground Dove issues a repeated coo-coo-coo slowly and lightly over several seconds.

 

Our other three doves look different and come from different backgrounds. First, the Rock Dove stands out as one the world’s best known birds. It sports dozens of different costumes and inspires a range of emotions in cities everywhere. Its amazing reproduction rate – often 10-12 broods a year – makes it a challenge to control once it has taken up residence in an area. In most urban areas of the world, this bird is among the first recognized by children who call it by its common name, the Pigeon.

The Rock Dove, slightly larger than the Mourning Dove at 12.5” length, nests on cliffs in Britain and Europe. It is a strong, swift flyer and its muffled series of low hoots is best heard on takeoffs and landings. Common advice: to hear a Pigeon, stand beside a statue.

Our fourth dove is an immigrant. It came to Florida in the 1980s, escaping from pet cages in the Bahamas. A bit larger than the Rock Dove, this Old-World species is pale gray-white with a distinctive collar in black. Its simple beauty makes the Eurasian-Collared Dove a great sighting when perched in hardwood trees. Its range in the U.S. has expanded in 30-plus years, now reaching the mid-Atlantic states and the Great Plains. Look for the Collared Dove to overtake the Rockies and soon claim sea-to-sea range. A non-migrator.

The final Dove here is seldom seen, but a definite species for birders’ lists. It is the White-winged Dove. It measures 11.5” and is slightly smaller and more slender than the other three large doves. Its prominent white wing patch, quite visible in flight, sets it apart from the Mourning Dove which it closely resembles. The white marking becomes a thin line when the bird is perched. As with most doves, the White-winged Dove male and female look alike. It found its way to Florida in the 1950s from South America.

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*For those who followed all the way, that “most abundant” dove species from the 19th century was the now-extinct Passenger Pigeon. John Audubon once tracked a flock over Kentucky estimated at two billion birds.