About Metriopelia aymara (Prévost, 1840)
This species, the golden-spotted ground dove, has the scientific name Metriopelia aymara (Prévost, 1840). Adult golden-spotted ground doves have pale fawn brown upperparts with a reddish pink tinge. The throat is white, the belly is buff, and the underparts between these two areas are reddish pink. The inner tail feathers are grayish brown with black tips, while the outer tail feathers are purplish black. When the wing is closed, it displays a row of iridescent golden spots that give the species its common name, plus two purplish black patches and a purplish black band at the tips of the flight feathers. The eye is brown, and unlike other species in this genus, it is not surrounded by bare skin. Juveniles are paler than adult birds, have little to no pink coloration, and lack the golden wing spots. The golden-spotted ground dove ranges from Ancash in central Peru east to west-central Bolivia, and south to the Coquimbo Region of Chile and Mendoza Province of Argentina. It lives in arid and semi-arid areas of the Andean puna zone, where it occurs on plains, along lake shores, and among grass tussocks. It forms flocks in Polylepis woodland or rocky terrain during the nesting season. Most of the time, it is found at elevations between 2,800 and 5,000 m (9,200 and 16,400 ft), but it can occur as low as 300 m (980 ft) in the southern portion of its range.
