October 28, 2006 Morristown, Hamblen Co., TN The Inca Dove observed several times by Ben Britton since October 18 was seen again this evening by three regional birders. Jim Holt (of Greeneville) and I visited Ben in Morristown late today, and the three of us watched the dove from 5:54 until 6:04. We had great looks at the bird from a distance of approximately 75-100 feet as it came in to feed. Several field marks were visible: ** small overall size (about that of a cardinal, with a chunkier body) ** pale face ** pale grayish plumage, with light brown overtones ** "scaly" appearance, especially on the upperparts ** fairly long square-tipped tail, with white on the outer feathers, bordered by black (tail much longer than on Common Ground-Dove) ** rufous in primaries (visible only briefly on one or two occasions) ** dark bill ** pale pink feet The bird's flight was quick, with a notable suddenness as it took off and moved from place to place. Birders who are accustomed to the deliberate movements of Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, and Eurasian Collared-Dove may be surprised by the actions of this bird. We heard no vocalization or wing sounds. (Had we not been a fair distance away, and had there not been quite a bit of background suburb noise, we would probably have heard the wing rattle.) Nothing about the bird, other than its small size, was strongly suggestive of Common Ground-Dove, and the plumage details we saw quickly ruled out that species. It was also immediately apparent that we were not looking at a juvenile Mourning Dove. Tennessee birders should be grateful that this dove happened to show up in the yard of an experienced birder such as Ben. Thanks to his alertness a few days ago, we all now have a chance to gather info on an important species observed only a few times in Tennessee. Inca Dove is one of many species currently undergoing a range expansion. I believe that Ben's report on October 18 was probably the first for Inca Dove in Tennessee northeast of Knoxville. Needless to say, any other observations of this bird should be carefully recorded. Additionally, as Dean Edwards suggested a few days ago, it is important for Ben to submit a report to the Tennessee Bird Records Committee for TOS action. Don Miller Greeneville, Greene Co., TN pandion@xxxxxxxxxxxxx =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________