Croaking Ground-Dove (Columbina cruziana)

Identification & Behavior: ~17.2 cm (7 in). The male Croaking Ground-Dove is gray above and pinkish gray below, with ba bluish-gray head. The female is a dull version of the male. The iris is white. The bill is half dusky and half bright orange. The tail is mostly black except for the central pair of fathers. The flight feathers are black. It is readily distinguished from the Plain-breasted Ground-Dove and the Ecuadorian Ground-Dove by the pale iris and the bright orange and dusky bill. It favors semi-open habitats.

Status: The Croaking Ground-Dove is common along the coast, foothill, and some inter-Andean valleys of the west slope of the Andes. It also occurs in the Marañon Drainage. It also occurs in Ec, and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Tortolita Peruana.

Sub-species: Croaking Ground-Dove (Columbina cruziana), Prévost 1842.

Meaning of Name: Columbina: L. referring to a small version of the family Columbidae. cruziana: erroneous typonim after the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The Croaking Ground-Dove is found on the coast of Peru and Ecuador. It does not occur in Bolivia.

See more of the Family Columbidae