Columbina inca
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% 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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an Inca Dove sighting in Rincón de la Vieja National Park on a given day, based on 459 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 341 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March, May, July–August and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Inca Dove in Rincón de la Vieja National Park on a given day, against about 20% in September and November, the lowest months.
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.
7th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Inca Dove sightings, Rincón de la Vieja National Park ranks 7th at about 40%. 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.
Same genus: Columbina
The closest relatives of the Inca Dove that you can see in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (genus Columbina, Small Ground Doves) are Common Ground-Dove (about 10%) and Ruddy Ground-Dove (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Inca Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (459 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.
