Posted by John Boyd on May 04, 2002 at 14:20:10:
Over 20 birders, including a tour group, saw the Zenaida Dove between 10 and 11am this morning. It ended up being a well-photographed bird.
The Zenaida Dove is on Key Largo. To get there, take US 1 to CR-905, just past the Circle-K in Key Largo. Turn Left on CR-905 and proceed a bit over 2 miles to Valois Blvd. Turn right on Valois. The dove was most often seen between 133 and 143 Valois. It was also seen at the corresponding location on Marseilles Blvd. (near the beginning of Valois, take the dirt road left to get to Marseilles).
Larry Manfredi originally found the bird yesterday around 11 on Marseilles (thanks Larry!), but it was not seen in the afternoon. We checked back after lunch and did not see the bird. If you plan to look for it, we would suggest getting there by 9:30am.
Note also that some of the other neighborhoods in the area have similar habitat, and may be worth checking.
This bird does not occur in the US often enough to be illustrated in Sibley, so be sure to consult your NGS or W. Indies guide. The bird is darker and bulkier than Morning Doves, but with a shorter tail. Beware of the immature Mourning Doves, which also have shorter tails and are sometimes darker than adults. The Zenaida Dove also has a white secondary bar which is usually visible on the folded wing.