- Columbina passerina
Identification
L. 17cm
Wt. 32g (1oz)
- Tiny
- Short-tailed
- Grey-brown back and upperwings
- Black spotting on wing coverts
- Scaly appearance on breast and head
- Centrally brown tail with black edges and white corners
- Orange bill tipped black
Male
- Pink head, neck and breast
- Pink, unscaled belly
- Blue nape
Female & Immature
- Light grey where male is pink
- Grey nape
Flight
In flight, the underwings show extensive chestnut colouration. Flight is fast and direct, with regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings that are characteristic of pigeons in general.
Distribution
It is a resident breeder from Bermuda, through the southmost USA, Mexico and the Caribbean, to South America, and is found as far south as northern Brazil.
Taxonomy
A small New World tropical dove.
Columba passerina Linnaeus, 1758, South Carolina, USA. Eighteen subspecies.
Other common names
English: Tobacco dove
French: Colombe a queue noire
German: Sperlingstäubchen
Spanish: Columbina Comun.
Habitat
Inhabits scrub and other open country.
Behaviour
Breeding
It builds a flimsy stick nest in a tree and lays two white eggs.
