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Pat Lucas
Boerne, TX, USA
Early this morning (3-6-2023), this dove was perched on one of the feeders in my backyard with another regular colored White-winged Dove. It was misty and I took the morning mist photo through the window. Later this afternoon, he/she arrived again with a group of about 10 other White-winged Doves. I noticed that he/she would perch on the feeder, but not eat from the feeders. He was very skittish and would quickly go back into the trees. He finally went to the ground and ate there. Again, he was skittish and would quickly go back up into the trees. He did this several times as I took photos from my porch. This is the first time I have seen a White-winged Dove with this color. As I looked at my photos, I also noticed he had very noticeable feathers along his neck and chest. Very different from the other White-winged Doves. I will continue to look for him as the Doves come to the feeders very often.
Melanism
Black headed White-winged Dove
I believe this is a melanistic White-winged Dove. Melanism is a condition where an animal/human produces a larger amount of melanin(black pigmentation) than normal, resulting in dark or black areas of the body. Hope this helped!
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