Photographs by Kent Mizanin. Copyright 1999. All Rights Reserved.

A

B

C

This would-be first state record of Common Ground-Dove is a single observer sighting backed up by written documentation and these photographs. These are not the only photographs (about a dozen in all were supplied to me), however these three offer the most supporting detail. Kent (and others) has asked me to comment on these images for what they say about the identification.

There had been some speculation that a misidentification of a tailless Mourning Dove had taken place. Photo B clearly shows a full tail. This same tail may at first look a bit long for a ground-dove if one makes the error of taking the entire length below the branch to be the tail. Only the dark portion involves the rectrices as the white feathers are the undertail coverts.Therefore the length is appropriate as is the squared off shape for Common Ground-Dove and inconsistent with Mourning Dove or Inca Dove. Inca Dove also exhibits fine barring on the uppertail coverts. It cannot be seen in this WWW version, however, the original print of image C shows the lower back/rump area to be free of barring and scaling consistent with Common Ground-Dove. This same print shows the base of the bill to be ruby red, also hinted at in image A. Again your view above, necessarily rendered as a JPEG, removes crucial pixels to clearly see that. You can see pinkish feet. This might throw you off if you read Peterson field guide descriptions of yellow feet in the Common Ground-Dove, yet there is no shortage of color photos in photograhic field guides showing pinkish feet. What you can see above is the very plain face, especially in image B. No ear mark as in a Mourning Dove. In the enlargement, note the blue haze of the crown (present in a Mourning) extends well down the nape (as in a Common Ground-Dove and not a Mourning Dove). Finally the red eye and curvature of the bill would be very difficult to reproduce in a Mourning Dove (no matter the lighting or camera angle) and yet consistent with images of Common Ground-Dove found in photographic guides.

As to whether these photos support the identification of Common Ground-Dove is a determination for the Ohio Bird Records Committee. - V.W.F.III, 30 Dec. 1999