What do you know about the White-winged Dove? You may have heard about the bird in the 1981 song "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks, which you can play in the video below. In the song the back-up singers sing "ooohh baby ooohh", which is what the bird's call sounds like.
The White-winged Dove can be found in the south-west of the United states and in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Lately the bird has increased its range and expanded throughout Texas and further east due to increased urbanization and backyard feeding.
White-winged Doves are amazing birds and have adapted to life in the desert. They can fly up to 25 miles to find water and are able to get their needed moisture from the saguaro cactus, which they also use for food. They are so dependent on the saguaro cactus, of which they eat the nectar, pollen, fruit and seeds, that they time their migration and nesting to match the plants fruiting time.
And when these birds migrate they can travel in very large groups. At one time flocks of up to one million birds were seen feeding in grass fields in Texas! Oooh baby, that is a lot of birds!
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