The Story
I made this photo of an Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) at Hacienda El Escobal in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. It is a resident breeder throughout South America from Colombia to southern Argentina and Chile. It feeds mainly on seed and grain taken from the ground. It appears to be partly migratory, moving with its food supply. The female is duller than the male. Hacienda El Escobal is part of the Picaleña lagoon complex, and by eBird’s December 2021 data 309 bird species had been reported there. Cortolima lists El Escobal, on the Meseta de Ibagué, among the city’s 13 priority birding routes.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Eared Dove as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) belongs to the family Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List
