# Common Ground-Dove

Scientific name: Columbina passerina

Bird group: [dove](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/dove)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/62/Common-Ground-Dove

## Identification

The common ground dove (Columbina passerina) is a small bird that inhabits the southern United States, parts of Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It is considered to be the smallest dove that inhabits the United States. As its name suggests, the bird spends the majority of its time on the ground walking but still has the ability to fly.
The common ground dove is North America's smallest dove and is one of the world's smallest by mass. This species ranges from 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) in length, spans 27 cm (11 in) across the wings and weighs 26–40 g (0.92–1.41 oz). The common ground dove has a yellow beak with a black tip. Feathers surrounding the beak are pink in colour. The feathers on the head and the upper breast have a scale like appearance. The tail feathers are very short and similar colour 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 been 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 colouration on their belly. Females on the other hand are more gray than their male counterparts and are more evenly coloured.


## Distribution and habitat

The Common Ground-Dove occurs through the Southern 
United States, Mexico, Central 
America, and northern South 
America including the West 
Indies (Raffaele and others 
1998). It is a year-round and 
very common resident in Puerto 
Rico (Raffaele and others 
1998), Culebra, Mona (Ventosa-
Febles and others 2005), and 
Vieques islands (Gemmill 2015). 
Puerto Rico and its satellite 
islands harbor an endemic 
subspecies (C. p. portoricensis), 
with the exception of Mona, 
which has another subspecies (C. p.fiexigua). The Common 
Ground-Dove uses a wide range 
of lowland habitats (Raffaele 
and others 1998) including forest 
edges, farms, open country, 
gardens, and towns (Oberle 
2018). The atlas fieldwork 
yielded a total of 861 records 
within 378 hexagons or 80 
percent of the 479 total hexagons 
(see map). Of the 378 hexagons 
where this species was found, 
breeding met the atlas definition 
of confirmed in 14 percent (53) 
of the hexagons, probable in 59 
percent (223), and possible in 27 
percent (102) (see map). Common Ground-Dove distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones 
in Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      53Common Ground-Dove/Rolita

## Breeding

The Common Ground-Dove builds a nest made of rootlets, 
grasses, or twigs in a shrub 
or tree, or on the ground. 
Previously published reports 
indicate that it breeds year-
round, but breeding peaks 
during May and June (Raffaele 
and others 1998). Atlas results 
show that this species breeds 
throughout the year, with the most breeding activity from 
March to June and with a peak in 
May (see chart). Results indicate 
that the Common Ground-Dove 
breeds within all ecological life 
zones (see table and map).

## Conservation

The Common Ground-Dove current population trend is 
suspected to be decreasing, but 
it is listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN (BirdLife 
International 2018). Locally, this 
species is not listed in any of the 
threatened categories of PRDNER 
and USFWS. In Puerto Rico, the 
Common Ground-Dove has a 
protected habitat in land of 12 
percent or 1105 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons 
where this species is known to 
breed (9040 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_062_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_062_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.