Despite being named after the Inca Empire, the Inca Dove (Columbina inca) does not occur in any of the lands that constituted that region – it occurs from the southwestern United States and Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica. It is a small dove with scaled, pale grey-brown upperparts, white throat, and scaled, pale buff (often with pink wash) underparts. In the winter, Inca doves gather in flocks of up to 50. On cold winter days they have been known to form pyramids 2 or 3 tiers high that helps them conserve heat and stay warm.
