Mourning Dove with rosy breast

Aurora, CO(Zone 4a)

I have little doubt that these sweeties are Mourning Doves, but I've never seen one with such a reddish tint to the breast. Is this considered to be a yellow variant?

Thumbnail by wingwoman Thumbnail by wingwoman Thumbnail by wingwoman Thumbnail by wingwoman
Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a)

Check out xanthochroism - a rare mutation with excess yellow / red pigments.

Resin

(Zone 5a)

When I look at your doves, I see a male on the right and female on the left.

From Wikipedia, referencing the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America...
"The adult male has bright purple-pink patches on the neck sides, with light pink coloring reaching the breast. The crown of the adult male is a distinctly bluish-grey color."

I wish more field guides would point this out as I looked at a couple on my shelf, others on line and they show the genders as being the same. They are not. I never thought to add National Geographic to my collection of field guides, but maybe it is worth it after all. :)

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