1. Rock Pigeon
Rock Pigeons are an introduced species in Alaska and they are residents here all year but are most common from October to April in the southeast of the state.
They are recorded in 3% of summer checklists and 8% of winter checklists submitted by bird watchers for the state.
Rock Pigeons are well recognized around towns and parks and are usually blueish gray with two black bands on the wing and black on the tail tip. They have iridescent throat feathers and orange eyes.
However, they can also be white, spotted, or red.
- Columba livia
- Length: 11.8-14.2 in (30-36 cm)
- Weight: 9.3-13.4 oz (265-380 g)
- Wingspan: 19.7-26.4 in (50-67 cm)
Rock Pigeons do not migrate and can be found in all US states, southern Canada, and the Pacific Coast to Alaska.
You can find Rock Pigeons in cities, parks, and backyards, especially if there is birdseed on the ground. Some cities have ordinances against feeding pigeons as they are considered pests.
Rock Pigeon Call:
Fun Fact: Rock Pigeons have an amazing ability to find their way home using the earth’s magnetic field.
2. Eurasian Collared-Dove
Eurasian Collared-Doves are an introduced species in Alaska but they can be spotted in the southeast of the state all year. They appear in around 1% of summer and winter checklists.
Eurasian Collared-Doves are light brownish-gray, with white patches in the tail, and look very similar to Mourning Doves, but with a black half collar at the nape of the neck. They are also larger and with a square tail rather than pointed.
- Streptopelia decaocto
- Length: 11.4-11.8 in (29-30 cm)
- Weight: 4.9-6.3 oz (140-180 g)
- Wingspan: 13.8 in (35 cm)
Eurasian Collared-Doves are an introduced species that only arrived in the 1980s but now live across most of the United States.
You can find Eurasian Collared-Doves in most areas, including rural and suburban and they eat a wide variety of seeds and grain but also eat some berries and insects.
Eurasian Collared-Dove song:
3. Mourning Dove
Mourning Doves are considered rare or accidental species in Alaska but there have been occasional sightings in the southeast of the state.
Mourning Doves are graceful small-headed birds with plump bodies and long tails. They are a soft brown color with black spots on the wings. Males are slightly heavier than females.
- Zenaida macroura
- Length: 9.1-13.4 in (23-34 cm)
- Weight: 3.0 -6.0 oz (96-170 g)
- Wingspan: 17.7 in (45 cm)
Mourning Doves are common over all of the lower 48 all year but may migrate after breeding from the north of the Midwest and southern Canada.
Mourning Doves can be seen perching on telephone wires and foraging for seeds on the ground in grasslands, fields, and backyards. They can also be found in open areas or woodland edges.
Mourning Dove call:
Attract Mourning Doves to your backyard by scattering millet on the ground or platform feeders. They will also eat black sunflower seeds, nyjer, cracked corn, and peanut hearts.
4. Band-tailed Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeons are accidental species in Alaska. They are extremely rare but some spend the breeding season in the southeast of the state from mid-March to October.
Band-tailed Pigeons are defined by their tail band and the shiny, scaly feathers on their necks.
Adult Band-tailed Pigeons are medium-sized birds whose heads and breasts are colored pinkish-purple. Some may appear grayish-purple, too. They have a white band next to the green, shiny, scale-looking feathers on their necks.
Their backs and wings are bluish-gray. Their bills are yellow with a dark tip. The upper half of their tails are dark gray gradually fading to a pale gray band. Their legs and feet are yellow.
Juvenile Band-tailed Pigeons are more bluish-gray overall compared to adults. They also lack the white crescent and the scaly feathers on their necks. Their backs and wings have a light scalloped pattern with dark wingtips.
- Patagioenas fasciata
- Length: 13 – 16 in (33 – 40 cm)
- Weight: 7.9 – 18.02 oz (225 – 515 g)
- Wingspan: 26 in (66 cm)
Band-tailed Pigeons range from southwestern Canada down to South America, predominantly on the west coasts.
You can find Band-tailed Pigeons in oak and pine forests with abundant acorns and berries. They are nomadic and follow where the food is so they may go out of their common range in search of food.
Band-tailed Pigeons mostly eat seeds, berries, and fruits which they pick off from the ground or in trees. They forage in flocks collecting grain seeds, wild fruits, acorns, and pine nuts. They drink water from natural springs and bodies of water with high mineral salts in the summer.
Band-tailed Pigeon calls:
Nests of Band-tailed Pigeons are built on top of sturdy tree limbs high above the ground. The nests are flat or saucer-shaped and made of intertwined twigs, needles, moss, and breast feathers. The female lays one or two eggs and both adults incubate the eggs for twenty days.
Attract Band-tailed Pigeons to your backyard by putting out seeds and planting berry bushes and fruit trees.
Fun Fact: In North America, there are two breeding grounds for the Band-tailed Pigeon. The first is in the wet forests of the Pacific Coast and the second is in the mountain forests of the Southwest.
5. Oriental Turtle-Dove
Oriental Turtle-Doves are considered accidental species in Alaska, and according to records, they were last spotted around Unalaska in 2018.
Oriental Turtle Doves have a wide distribution range with at least six named subspecies. They are considered vagrants in North America.
Oriental Turles Doves have grayish-blue foreheads and pinkish-brown crowns. Their eyes are reddish-brown and their bills are grayish. Their breasts and bellies are pale pinkish-brown. There are black and white silvery-striped patches on the sides of their necks.
Their backs and wings are dark brown with orangey edges giving them a scalloped or scaly pattern. Their tails are brown and wedge-shaped. Their legs and feet are dark red.
- Streptopelia orientalis
- Length: 11.8 – 13.7 in (30 – 35 cm)
- Weight: 5.64 – 9.87 oz (160 – 280 g)
- Wingspan:
As their name would suggest Oriental Turtle Doves are usually found in Asia, but there are occasional sightings in Canada and the United States.
You can find Oriental Turtle Doves breeding in well-wooded but open habitats. They may also stay within cultivated fields, flooded agricultural lands, rural gardens, and urban areas. They favor lowland forest and boreal and moist shrubland environments.
Oriental Turtle Doves usually eat seeds. They particularly like grains, cereals, wild seeds, green shoots, and herbs.
Oriental Turtle-Dove calls:
Nests of Oriental Turtle Doves are placed at mid-canopy height to avoid predation. Nests are built by both parents with the males bringing the materials, like twigs and sticks, and the females constructing the nest. The female lays two eggs and they take fifteen to sixteen days to hatch.
Fun Fact: The Japanese name for Oriental Turtle Doves is “Kiji-Bato” which literally means “Pheasant Pigeon”.
6. White-winged Dove
White-winged Doves are extremely rare in Alaska and are considered accidental species in the state but they have been spotted around Petersburg in 2023.
White-winged Doves are pale gray-brown with a black line on the cheek and a white stripe on the edge of the closed wing, which is striking to see on the middle of their dark wing in flight. Males and females look the same.
- Zenaida asiatica
- Weight: 4.4-6.6 oz (125-187 g)
- Wingspan: 18.9-22.8 in (48-58 cm)
White-winged Doves breed along the southern border with Mexico and are resident in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. Those to the north of the range may move south towards the Gulf Coast or into Mexico for winter.
You can find White-winged Doves in deserts, dense, thorny forests, woodlands, and suburban areas. Their diet is mostly grain, fruits, and large seeds, and they forage on the ground.
White-winged Dove Call:
Attract White-winged Doves to your yard with sunflower, corn, safflower, and milo on platform feeders. Also, plant native berry-producing shrubs.
