- 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
Subspecies
There are 18 subspecies[1]
- C. p. passerina : Coastal south-eastern US (South Carolina to Florida and south-eastern Texas)
- C. p. pallescens: Arid south-western US to Guatemala and Belize
- C. p. socorroensis: Socorro Island (Revillagigedo Islands off western Mexico)
- C. p. neglecta: Honduras to Costa Rica and Panama
- C. p. bahamensis: Bermuda and Bahamas (except Inagua Island)
- C. p. exigua: Great Inagua Island (southern Bahamas) and Mona Island (Puerto Rico)
- C. p. insularis: Cuba, Isle of Pines, Cayman Islands, Hispaniola and adjacent islands
- C. p. jamaicensis: Jamaica
- C. p. navassae: Navassa Island (off south-western Hispaniola)
- C. p. portoricensis: Puerto Rico, Mona, Culebra and [[Virgin Islands (except St. Croix)
- C. p. nigrirostris: St. Croix and northern Lesser Antilles
- C. p. trochila: Martinique (Lesser Antilles)
- C. p. antillarum: Southern Lesser Antilles (St. Lucia and Barbados to Grenada)
- C. p. albivitta: Northern Colombia, northern Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad
- C. p. parvula: Central Colombia (upper Magdalena Valley)
- C. p. nana: Western Colombia (Cauca Valley and arid upper Dagua Valley)
- C. p. quitensis: Central Ecuador (Río Guaillabamba to Riobamba)
- C. p. griseola: Extreme southern Venezuela to the Guianas and eastern Brazil
Male and Female, subspecies jamaicensis
Photo by Stanley Jones
Montego Bay, Cornwall State, St. James Parish, Jamaica, November 2010
Photo by Stanley Jones
Montego Bay, Cornwall State, St. James Parish, Jamaica, November 2010
Habitat
Dry sandy scrub, fields, forest edge, woodland with developed open areas, farms, open country and towns.
Behaviour
Breeding
It builds a flimsy stick nest in a tree and lays two white eggs.
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Common Ground Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Ground_Dove
External Links
