Golden-spotted Ground Dove
Metriopelia aymara
Rather small and stocky dirt-colored dove of the high Andes. The namesake golden spots on wing coverts are hard to see. Favors sandy and fine stony soils in puna grasslands, villages with animal corrals, and adjacent farmland. Found in pairs or flocks, feeding on ground where plumage can be remarkably cryptic. Often not seen until it flushes from close range with a loud rattling wing whistle. Smaller and shorter-tailed than Black-winged Ground Dove with contrastingly blackish underwings without the white “shoulder” flashes seen on Black-winged.
Identification
The adult golden-spotted ground dove's upperparts are pale fawn brown with a reddish pink tinge. Its throat is white, its belly buff, and the underparts between them reddish pink. The inner tail feathers are grayish brown with black tips and the outer ones purplish black. The closed wing shows a row of the eponymous iridescent golden spots, two purplish black patches, and a purplish black swath at the tips of the flight feathers. The eye is brown, and uniquely in its genus, is not surrounded by bare skin. Juveniles are paler than the adults, have little or no pink, and do not have the golden spots on the wing.
Taxonomy
The golden-spotted ground dove was placed in the monotypic genus Leptophaps by some authors. It has no subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Metriopelia aymara
- Authority
- (Prévost, 1840)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Metriopelia
Range and habitat
The golden-spotted ground dove is found from Ancash in central Peru east to west-central Bolivia and south to Chile's Coquimbo Region and Argentina's Mendoza Province. It inhabits the arid and semi-arid parts of the puna zone of the Andes. There it is found on the plains, along lake shores, and amid grass tussocks. It flocks in Polylepis woodland or rocky terrain during the nesting season. In elevation it mostly ranges between 2,800 and 5,000 m (9,200 and 16,400 ft) but can be found as low as 300 m (980 ft) in the southern part of its range.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The golden-spotted ground dove feeds on the ground, usually in small flocks but sometimes large ones. Its diet has not been studied.<p>The golden-spotted ground dove usually places its nest in grass but may also site it in trees or among rocks. Nests with eggs have been found between April and August and juveniles from July to as late as December. The clutch size is two.<p>No details of the golden-spotted ground dove's vocalizations have been published. Its wings rattle during takeoff.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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