The Common ground dove (Columbina passerina) is a small bird found in the Americas. It is considered to be the smallest dove that inhabits the United States. As its name suggests, it spends the majority of its time on the ground walking but still has the ability to fly.
The Common ground dove has a yellow beak with a black tip. Feathers surrounding the beak are pink in color. The feathers on the head and the upper breast have a scale-like appearance. The tail feathers are very short and similar in color to the back. The plumage on the back of the bird is brown. The coverts and wing feathers are also brown but have black spotting on them. The Common ground dove has chestnut primaries and wing borders, which can only be seen when the bird is flying. The Common ground dove shows some sexual dimorphism in their plumage. The males have slate-gray feathers on the top of their heads and pink-gray coloration on their bellies. Females, on the other hand, are grayer than their male counterparts and are more evenly colored.
Common ground doves are found in the southern tip of the United States, most of Mexico, parts of Central America, the Caribbean islands, and northwestern South America. They do not migrate and live year-long throughout their range. They inhabit open areas that have trees and bushes. They are also found in woods with sandy areas, forest edges, desrt shrublands, savannas, farmlands, and resiedential areas.
Common ground doves are social birds and often gather in flocks. They are active during the day and roost in trees and shrubs during the night. Common ground doves forage on the ground and often eat while they are still moving and searching for other food items. They seem to hold territories but they are rarely aggressive when dealing with intruders. The call of these doves can be described as soft whoops that increase in pitch. Often the call is heard in repetition and is quite distinct.
Common ground doves are herbivores, mainly granivores, and eat the seeds of various wild grasses and weeds. They can also feed on berries, fruits, insects, and snails (including the shells), and will visit bird feeders if they are available to them.
Common ground doves are monogamous and mate with their partner for life. Nesting can occur between February and October; however, the peak usually occurs between early April and mid-May. Pairs can raise 2-3 broods in any given year. Common ground doves build nests on the ground in vegetation or sometimes slightly off the ground in bushes. Their nests are quite simple, usually just a slight groove in the ground surrounded with plant material in a simple manner. The nests in bushes often are a simple structure of twigs and vegetation that are often fragile. The female lays on average 2 white eggs that are incubated by both parents for 12-14 days. The chicks are altricial at birth and covered in a small amount of gray down feathers. Both parents feed their young until they are ready to feed themselves. They usually fledge 11 days after hatching and become reproductively mature at the age of 79 days.
Although Common ground doves are not considered threatened at present, they still suffer from the loss of their native habitat, human disturbances, hunting, and predation by domestic cats.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Common ground dove is 11,000,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are stable.
As seed eater, Common ground doves play an important role in their ecosystem as seed dispersers and help in forest regeneration. They also serve as a food item for many terrestrial predators and raptors.
