Anguilla's National Bird - The Zenaida Dove

Zenaida Dove - Anguilla

A prominent Anguillan lawyer once described the Zendaida Dove as a “rat with wings.” This is not a resounding endorsement of the species.

Zenaida Dove West End Pond IBA

I later learned that the bird was hunted on the island for food using a series of clever traps. Once the species was designated the National Bird, hunting ended in Anguilla. This is not true of other islands.

Zenaida Dove Shoal Bay East

Locally named Turtle Dove, Birds of the World describes the Zenaida Dove as follows:

“The Zenaida Dove is a brown dove of open woodland and clearings in the Caribbean region. It occurs on all major islands and most smaller cayes, as well as along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. It is medium-sized and brown overall, with a purple gloss on the neck sides and black spots on the secondaries, rectrices, and below the ear coverts. It resembles the partly-sympatric Mourning (Zenaida macroura) and Eared (Zenaida auriculata) doves, but has a distinctive terminal white band on the outer secondaries, which is visible both when the wing is folded and when the wing is open. Its low-pitched, level cooing can be heard primarily at dawn. Zenaida Doves feed both in trees and on the ground for fruits and seeds and obtains salt from natural or artificial sources.”

Nesting Zenaida Dove

This breeding resident nests in trees or shrubs like mangroves. The nest consists of two white eggs.

Zenaida Dove Chicks Scilly Cay

The incubation period is 13 to 15 days.

Zenaida Dove and Fledged Chick Bad Cox Pond

Zenaida Dove chicks fledge between 13 and 15 days after hatching.

Zenaida Doves Island Harbour

While the Zenaida Dove is widespread across Anguilla, it does have favored locations. This bird gravitates to East End Pond, Island Harbour, and more secluded ponds like Bad Cox. Road Salt Pond attracts large numbers of them, and you can often see them roosting on the telephone lines at dusk.

They have come a long way from hunted to one of Anguilla’s national symbols.

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Citation

Baptista, L. F., P. W. Trail, H. M. Horblit, P. F. D. Boesman, G. M. Kirwan, and E. Garcia (2020).Zenaida Dove(Zenaida aurita), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.zendov.01