The Inca Dove is a small and slender dove with a long, square-tipped tail and small head. It has a thin and slightly drooping bill and short legs. Slightly larger than a Common Ground-Dove, smaller than a Mourning Dove. The Inca Dove is the color of desert sands.

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). [2]

The soft, whistled no-hope of the Inca Dove is a familiar sound in southwestern cities. These little doves are often seen walking about on lawns with dainty steps, or fluttering up with a rattle of wings.

The tiny Inca Dove is covered in tan scaly-looking feathers and blends right in with its suburban desert habitats. That is, until it bursts into flight, making a dry rattling whir with its wings while flashing chestnut underwings and white in its tail.

Learn more about Inca Dove from… Essentially a ground dove with a long tail. Pale sandy color with scaly pattern covering entire body, unlike Common Ground Dove. Look for obvious white outer tail feathers and rufous wings in flight. Fairly common from the southwestern U.S. to far western Panama.

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.

Inca doves are tiny gray pigeon-like birds with long tails. Their outer tail feathers are white. They have rusty wing patches easily seen when they fly. Inca's have a distinctive fish scale pattern on their breast, head and back feathers. This common Southwest species is one of the most desert-adapted of the family.

This conspicuous dove is often found in urban areas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Learn how to spot the Inca dove. An Inca dove perches on a log in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

The Inca Dove has been expanding its range in Texas since it was first collected at Laredo in 1866 (Butcher 1868). It next appeared at Austin in 1889 and by the early 1900s was breeding at San Antonio, New Braunfels, Austin and Waco.

The Inca dove is a small, slender dove with an overall grayish-tan plumage. Its underparts, throat, and face are often a shade lighter than its upperparts. Its feathers are edged with brown all over its body, giving it a unique, scaly appearance.