The black-winged ground dove (''Metriopelia melanoptera'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Columbidae Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

. It is found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The black-winged ground dove has two subspecies, the nominate ''M. m. melanoptera'' and ''M. m. saturatior''.

Description

The black-winged ground dove is long. Males weigh and females . The nominate adult male is grayish brown or earth brown above with a faint pink tinge. The throat is whitish and the underparts fawn pink with gray flanks. The closed wing shows a white edge and some pale gray. The eye color is highly variable as is the bare skin that surrounds it. The adult female's upperparts are a duller brown than the male's and the underparts less pink. Juveniles do not have the adults' pink tinge, and many feathers have buff edges. ''M. m. saturatior'' differs from the nominate by being darker and grayer above and less pink below.Baptista, L. F., P. W. Trail, H. M. Horblit, G. M. Kirwan, P. F. D. Boesman, and E. F. J. Garcia (2020). Black-winged Ground Dove (''Metriopelia melanoptera''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bwgdov1.01 retrieved 16 September 2021

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of black-winged ground dove is a year round resident from central Peru and adjacent Bolivia south through most of Chile and western Argentina. It breeds but does not winter on

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. ''M. m. saturatior'' is found in the Andes of southwestern Colombia south to Ecuador's

Azuay Province Azuay (), Province of Azuay is a province of Ecuador, created on 25 June 1824. It encompasses an area of . Its capital is Cuenca. It is located in the south center of Ecuador in the highlands. Its mountains reach above sea level in the national ...

. The black-winged ground dove inhabits ''

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

'' in Colombia and Ecuador and '' puna'' in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. It is typically found in grassy areas near

treeline The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

but roosts in ''Polylepis'' woodland and ''Puya'' stands. In much of its range it occurs between but from in Chile. It moves to the lower elevations in winter.

Behavior

Feeding

The black-winged ground dove feeds on the ground in small flocks. Its primary food appears to be grass seeds but details are lacking.

Breeding

The black-winged ground dove's breeding season varies with latitude. In Colombia and Ecuador, eggs have been found between August and October. In the south the season continues past October to February. Its nest is a fragile platform of sticks, usually in bushes, bromeliads, or cacti but sometimes on the ground. The clutch size is two.

Vocalization

The black-winged ground dove's song is a "series of relatively high-pitched, double notes 'rrree-up...rrree-up...rrreee-up...'." It also gives a short "piu" call.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the black-winged ground dove as being of Least Concern. It " pears to be generally common and locally numerous" and its bleak habitat is not heavily affected by humans except by cutting of ''Polylepis'' for firewood.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1263498 black-winged ground dove Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes Birds of the Puna grassland Birds of Chile Birds of the Southern Andes Birds of Tierra del Fuego black-winged ground dove Taxonomy articles created by Polbot