Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina)

Scientific name: Columbina passerina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name: Common Ground Dove
French name: Colombe à queue noire
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Size: Body size: 15 to 18cm; Wingspan: 20 to 27 cm; Weight: 22 to 42g.
Habitat: Open areas, bushes, with a preference for dry habitats with bare ground.
Food: Essentially seeds picked up on the ground and sometimes some insects.
Nesting: The rough cup-shaped nest is generally located, at low height, in a spiny bush. There are two eggs per brood, most often between March and June.
Migration: Sedentary, a few birds move southwards in winter.
Geographic area: Southern part of the United States, Central America, the Caribbean and northern part of South America.

The Common Ground Dove is one of the smallest bird of the Columbidae family.
You often see it on the ground, in pair or in small flocks of 5 to 6 birds.
The head and the neck are pale grey spotted with white, giving a scale-like pattern.
The rest of the plumage is a greyish brown colour with black marks on the wings.
The primary remige feathers are reddish, but you can only see this in flight.
The tail is brown with black edges.
The tip of the bill is black. The legs are short and pink.

Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina) - Guadeloupe, France - February 24th 2010

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The Common Ground Dove is a small discreet bird and I could have missed it though I was walking very close.

Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina) - French Guiana, France - March 11th 2012

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I have shot this picture in the small village of Saül located in the heart of the primary rain forest.
There are very few open areas outside the village.

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André Bon October 2014