Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This lovely dove was once fairly restricted to desert thickets, specializing on saguaro cactus seeds. Now it’s become a common sight in cities and towns across the southern U.S., and occasionally wanders even further afield. One appeared in my own backyard in Duluth, Minnesota, on May 17, 2022.

It’s pretty much the size of a Mourning Dove but lacks the dark spots on the Mourning Dove’s wing, has a more pronounced dark mustachial mark, and has more blue around the eye, to say nothing of the beautiful white feathers along the bend of the wing.