Doves kleptoparasitize ants

Abstract

We describe seven instances of kleptoparasitism by the Inca dove (Columbina inca) on the red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) in eastern Mexico, the first documented case in the order Columbiformes and the first for ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex. Doves visited the periphery of the ants' nest entrance and fed on waste material expelled by ants from inside the nest. Doves also took seeds of the grasses Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Digitaria ciliaris, and the shrub Sida directly from Pogonomyrmex workers. During a 5-day period, we estimated that nearly 20% of the seeds harvested by ants and carried toward the nest were taken by the doves. Inca doves can be defined as facultative kleptoparasites.