Columbina inca
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Inca dove or Mexican dove (Columbina inca) is a small New World dove. The species was first described by French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1847. It reaches a length of 16.5–23 cm (6.5–9.1 in) and weighs 30–58 g (1.1–2.0 oz). The Inca dove has an average wingspan of 28.5 cm and a max wingspan of 32 cm. It is a slender species, with a gray-brown body covered in feathers that resemble a scaled pattern. The tail is long and square and edged with white feathers that may flare out in flight. The underwings are reddish, like other ground doves, and upon takeoff, the wings produce a distinctive, quiet rattling noise.
The Inca dove ranges from Costa Rica in the south to the American Southwest in the north and is often common to abundant in suitable habitat. Its range has been expanding northward and southward the past few decades. Despite being named after the Inca Empire, this species does not occur in any of the lands that once constituted that empire. Inca doves are expanding their range in the north and south. This terrestrial species forms flocks in deserts, scrublands and cultivated areas and may also be found in urban settings where they... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 10 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Inca Dove sighting in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 185 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 40th most-seen of the 182 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Inca Dove in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against about 10% in August and November, the lowest months. That is one of Ostional Wildlife Refuge's wettest months, with about 560 mm of rain against 15 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Inca Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Inca Dove sightings, Ostional Wildlife Refuge ranks 13th at about 20%. The best odds are in Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%), Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%) and Masaya Volcano National Park (Nicaragua, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Inca Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Ostional Wildlife Refuge (185 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
