Plain-breasted Ground Dove
Columbina minuta
Small, inconspicuous dove of savannas and open grassland with scattered low bushes and palmettos; also found locally in cane fields and pastures. Usually found in pairs or small groups, sometimes associating with other ground doves. Both sexes are rather plain overall, with diagnostic purple marks on the back, although the color is often hard to see. The female can be easily confused with the much commoner Ruddy Ground Dove, which also has a plain breast, but the Ruddy Ground Dove is larger and warmer brown overall; also note vocal differences.
Identification
With a total length of approximately 14–16 cm (5.5–6.5 in) and a weight of 24–26 g (0.85–0.92 oz), this species averages slightly smaller than the common ground dove. The plain-breasted ground dove may be the smallest pigeons or doves by mass, though the more heavily built but almost tailless dwarf fruit dove of Southeast Asia is typically shorter in overall length.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the plain-breasted ground dove in his six volume Ornithologie based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected in Santo Domingo of the Dominican Republic. He used the French name La petite tourterelle brune d'Amérique and the Latin Turtur parvus fuscus americanus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the plain-breasted ground dove which he placed with the other pigeons in the genus Columba. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba minuta and cited Brisson's work. The specific name minuta is from the Latin minutus meaning "small". The type locality was subsequently corrected to Cayenne in French Guiana. The plain-breasted ground dove is now placed in the genus Columbina that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1825.<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Columbina minuta
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Columbina
Range and habitat
It is found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and heavily degraded former forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus
Breeding adult males are striking black and white with bright red triangle on breast. Nonbreeding males, females, and immatures are streaky below with a bold head pattern. Always look for the very thick, pale pinkish bill. Fairly common and widespread in eastern North America, especially in deciduous forests. Winters to northern South America. Visits feeders. Listen for sweet robinlike song and squeaky call. Females are sometimes confused with Purple Finch but note much larger overall size, large pinkish bill, and bolder white markings on wings. Also compare females and immature males with extremely similar Black-headed Grosbeak, which is usually identifiable by range. Rose-breasted usually has more extensive, coarser streaking on underparts and usually lacks orange tones.
Amur Falcon
Falco amurensis
The male of this small falcon is sooty gray with rufous-orange thighs and vent. The females are duller gray above, and their white underparts are well marked with dark chevrons. The combination of reddish-orange eyering, cere, and feet distinguishes them from all other falcons. These champion migrants breed in eastern Siberia and winter in southern Africa, often congregating in huge roosts on passage through India. They feed mainly on insects that they either catch on the wing or pick from the ground.
Hartlaub's Spurfowl
Pternistis hartlaubi
Small francolin with an unusually long and downcurved bill. The male and female are very different: the male has a white eye-stripe and heavy streaking below, while the female has plain rufous underparts. Found on and around rock outcrops in semi-desert brushland and arid savanna. Usually in pairs and small groups. Main call is a very loud, repeated, up-and-down “cheetle-chiddle” duet. Distinguished from other francolins in its range by lack of red bill and/or facial skin.
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