Common Ground-Dove
[order] COLUMBIFORMES | [family] Columbidae | [latin] Columbina passerina | [UK] Common Ground-Dove | [FR] Colombe moineau | [DE] Sperlingstaubchen | [ES] Columbina Comun, Tortolita Comun (Cr), Turquita Comun (HN) | [NL] Musduif
Subspecies
| Genus | Species | subspecies | Breeding Range | Breeding Range 2 | Non Breeding Range |
Physical charateristics
These tiny doves are generally brownish grey above and somewhat paler below with scaled breast and nape. The forehead and cheeks are pale pinkish, and the crown and hindneck are scaled bluish-grey. The black tipped bill is red at the base. Legs and feet are red. The short rounded tail has a black terminal bar thinning toward the center of the tail, and the outer tail feathers are tipped with white. At rest the wings show dark brownish bars and spots. In flight the bright rufous underwings and black-tipped rufous primaries of the upper wings are distinctive
| wingspan min.: | 25 | cm | wingspan max.: | 29 | cm |
| size min.: | 15 | cm | size max.: | 18 | cm |
| incubation min.: | 12 | days | incubation max.: | 14 | days |
| fledging min.: | 10 | days | fledging max.: | 14 | days |
| broods: | 3 | eggs min.: | 1 | ||
| eggs max.: | 3 |
Range
North America, Latin America : South USA to Southeast Brazil
Habitat
Inhabits open country with trees and bushes, sandy reefs, open sandy areas in forest and savannah. Primarily a bird of cultivated land, villages and towns. Found primarily in open areas with plants that produce small seeds such as abandoned agricultural fields, young pine plantations or citrus groves and other early successional habitats.
Reproduction
The nest is a fragile, shallow platform of stems and grasses placed in a low shrub, cactus, or palm, or occasionally on the ground. Ground-Doves are not averse to reusing their own nest, or that of a cardinal or thrasher. The female lays only two eggs at a time. However, she may produce several clutches over an extended breeding season, which can last from February to November, depending on food availability. As in other dove species, the parents feed their nestlings regurgitated food, or “pigeon milk.” The young develop rapidly. They are capable of flying when they are 11 days old and are capable of breeding at three months of age.
Feeding habits
The Ground-Dove is often encountered foraging on the ground for seeds, small berries, and occasional insects
Conservation
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Migration
Sedentary, although most Northern population may migrate South due to harsh weather conditions.
Distribution map
