Common Ground-Dove

Columbina passerina

Order COLUMBIFORMES - Family COLUMBIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

The smallest dove in the United States, the Common Ground-Dove is a bird of the southern United States and tropical America. Aptly named, it feeds and nests on the ground.

Cool Facts

• The Common Ground-Dove appears to hold permanent territories, but overt acts of aggression among territorial birds are relatively rare.

• The Common Ground-Dove stays with its mate throughout the year and between years.

Description

• Size: 15-18 cm (6-7 in)
• Wingspan: 27 cm (11 in)
• Weight: 28-40 g (0.99-1.41 ounces)

Small, stocky dove. Grayish brown body. Short neck. Short, dark tail with white corners. Wings flash rufous in flight. Small bill reddish at base, black on tip.

Thin, black scaling on feathers of head and chest. Black spots in wings. Eyes dark red, orange, or pink. Legs and feet pinkish.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but male with bluish nape and brighter legs when breeding.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but with less scaling.

Similar Species

• Inca Dove has longer tail and more extensive scaling extending onto back and wings.
• Rare Ruddy Ground-Dove is similar. Male is distinctive deep rufous. Female can be very similar to Common Ground-Dove, but lacks scaling on head and chest.

Sound

A moaning, rising "whooah," repeated monotonously.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from southern United States southward through Central America and Caribbean to South America.

Habitat

Open country with trees and bushes, sandy reefs, open sandy areas in forest and savanna, cultivated lands, and around human habitation in villages and towns.

Food

Mostly small weed and grass seeds, waste grains, small berries, insects, snail shells. Readily feeds at feeders.

Behavior

Foraging

Feeds on ground.

Reproduction

Nest Type

May nest on ground or in shrub. Ground nests may be just a few grasses, weeds, rootlets, palm fibers, or pine needles lining a slight depression. Above-ground nests thin frail structure, loose foundation of twigs or pine needles lined with rootlets and grasses.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

Usually 2 eggs. Range: 1-3.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless, with sparse tan down.

Conservation Status

Generally common; may be declining in some areas and increasing in others. Listed in New Mexico as "Endangered" and in Alabama as a "species of special concern."

Other Names

Colombe à queue noire (French)
Columbina común, Palomito de suelos, rolita (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic), tajosa (Cuba), Tórtola coquita (Mexico) (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Bowman, R. 2002. Common Ground-Dove (Columbina passerina). In The Birds of North America, No. 645 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.