Fun Eared Dove Facts For Kids

Have you heard about the doves abundantly found in Argentina? Well, the eared dove is the most widespread and abundantly found dove species in South America. It looks like the North American mourning dove. The eared doves live at a height of 13,000ft (4,000 m) above sea level. The eared doves comprise mainly olive-brown upperpart with an irregular mark on the neck and black spots on the neck and wings. The legs and feet are red or reddish-violet. However, the females are greyish brown and very dull, than the males, with fewer irregular marks on the neck. The eared dove size is larger than the ground doves and thinner than Leptotila doves with black spots on the wings. It quickly adapts to human habitation areas like towns and cities, often sitting on the telephone posts and wire, agricultural fields, and areas with shrubs. You will find them in these areas in flocks.

The eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) species is a close relative of the North American mourning dove. Keep reading this page; you will find interesting facts about the eared dove on this page. Also, read about hummingbirds and Arctic terns.
 

What type of animal is an eared dove?

Eared doves are terrestrial birds of the New World dove. They are not shy and can be found everywhere. The eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) has adjusted well to the presence of humans. They are found everywhere in towns and cities, agricultural fields, parks, and gardens. You can find them resting on the telephone posts and wires near towns in Trinidad and sporting estates of Argentina, which support the dove shooting. They are a close relative of the North American mourning doves. Perching collectively and even reproduces in an urban environment. They live in pairs, groups, or large flocks.

What class of animal does an eared dove belong to?

Eared doves are birds. They belong to the class Aves, and the family Columbidae.

How many eared doves are there in the world?

The exact number of eared doves is unknown, but more than 23 million eared doves are found in the fields of Cordoba in northern Argentina. Its recent figure in this area is estimated to be around 32 million. They are found in abundance and are used for a big bag shooting experience. Wing shooting recalls of one thousand eared doves daily for gun shooting. The commercial farms support the dove shooting. The luxury lodges and sporting estates of Argentina let you experience dove shooting.

Where does an eared dove live?

Zenaida auriculata is known as a New World dove. These birds are native to the Caribbean Islands and South America. It ranges from Colombia and Caribbean Island to southern Argentina and Chile. They are also found in Grenadines, Tobago, Rio Grande do Sul, and near towns in Trinidad.

What is an eared dove's habitat?

The eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) is common in arid and semi-arid regions. Their habitat comprises open grasslands or savannahs and woodlands. The eared dove likes to breed in dense vegetative growth and thorny shrubs. They also prefer urban areas, parks, gardens, agricultural fields, and industrial areas to find pest species to feed. They are found to avoid tropical forests.

It readily adapts to human habitation, being seen in the urban areas, often sitting on the wires, telephone posts near towns in Venezuela and Trinidad. They are found in almost every public place in the urban areas of Colombia, beach resorts of Tobago and Bogota where they have easy access to food.

Who do eared doves live with?

The eared dove seems to live in pairs or small groups. Sometimes they occur in large flocks.

How long does an eared dove live?

The lifespan of eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) birds is one and a half years.

How do they reproduce?

During the breeding season of the eared dove, it builds a small stick nest made of small branches or sticks of plants. The Eared Dove builds a small stick nest at the top of the trees. They lay only two eggs. These eggs hatch within 12-14 days, and it takes nine days for nestling.

The eared dove birds do not have any fixed breeding season in most of their range. The birds are breeding four times because of plentiful food and perfect habitat. It also has a breeding display. It is a resident breeder in South American, and the Z auriculata (Zenaida auriculata) birds breeding four times a year are common in this region.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) is mentioned as Least Concern.

What do eared doves look like?

The eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) is 9.4 in (24 cm) long with a long wedge-shaped tail and weighs normally. The adult males have mainly olive-brown upperpart plumage with black-spotted wings. The head has a grey crown in males while brown in females. It has a grey crown black line behind the eye. It has spots on the wings, and the lower ear coverts are blue-black. The end of the tails is smudged with cinnamon.

The female eared doves are grayish brown and a very dull brown with less distinctive marks on their necks. The underpart is less pink. The young ones are duller than the females, have a wedge-shaped tail, and weighs 2 oz (56.7 gm). At the end of the wings, these juveniles have dull white marks.

How cute are they?

Yes, the Z auriculata (Zenaida auriculata) birds are cute-looking with olive-brown upperpart plumage with black spots at the end of the wings. The head has a black line behind the eye, a grey crow, and a blue-black mark near the lower ear. The black line behind the eye is arranged diagonally. The Eared Dove has a long wedge-shaped tail and weighs normally.

How do they communicate?

The female eared dove birds make a deep and soft 'oo-ah-oo' call. They even produce deep growls and melancholic 'coo' calls. It starts with a sweet note and becomes deeper with more growls. The Eared dove seems to exhibit a breeding display.

How big is an eared dove?

The eared dove is around 9.4 in (24 cm) long.

The eared doves are smaller than the mourning doves.

How fast can an eared dove fly?

The eared dove is known to fly very fast. It flies as fast as the mourning dove, around 55 mph (88.5 kph).

How much does an eared dove weigh?

The eared dove weighs around 112 g (4.0 oz).

What are the male and female names of the species?

A female dove is known as a hen, and a male dove is known as a cock.

What would you call a baby Eared Dove?

A baby dove is known as a squab or squeaker.

What do they eat?

The eared dove feeds on seeds, agricultural plants like wheat, rice, maize, soybeans, and sorghum, and insects like grasshoppers. Therefore, the Eared dove is common as agricultural pest species.

Are they dangerous?

No, the eared dove is not dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, an eared dove would make a good pet.

Did you know...

The ears of the doves are hidden behind under the feathers. They are known as auriculars, responsible for covering the opening of the ears and protecting them from the noise of the winds. Like humans, doves have an inner, middle, and outer ear.

The eared dove is common in Argentina because it is abundant in food and water. Cordoba in Argentina serves as the breadbasket with agricultural farms and establishes irrigation facilities. It provides the perfect habitat that they do not migrate or migrates partially. There are more than 50 million doves that live in Cordoba, Argentina. The eared dove easily adapts to human habitation, being seen as a resident breeder throughout Argentina.

One of the remarkable things about the Eared dove birds is that they provide shooting experience in the world. There is no limit to dove hunting. More than 23 million are used for hunting in the fields of Cordoba. The figure has increased to 32 million. This mass-scale wing shooting recalls the number of passenger pigeons used for hunting in 1800. The aggressive hunting brought the passenger pigeon to rapid extinction.

How did the eared dove get its name?

The eared dove birds have black marks below the ear coverts and behind the eyes. These black markings give the species its distinct name. Also, these black markings give the species its unique and attractive look.

Do eared doves migrate?

The eared doves are known to make occasional and seasonal migrations within their extended range. However, their migration depends on food supplies. They are known to migrate to the lowlands of South America for food. In Patagonia, they migrate to the north during the winter months or live in the urban areas.

The eared dove is common in the Chaco region of Argentina and Paraguay. Here, they form temporary breeding colonies. During the wet season, a large flock of doves migrates to the temporary breeding colonies in northeastern Brazil. These are one of the native birds in South America to perform the most robust migration.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our carrion crow facts and western bluebird facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable eared dove coloring pages.