Species

Common ground dove

Columbina passerina

A sparrow-sized dove of sandy southern ground, which flashes rusty wings when it flies.

Photo Wes Gapp (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 15 to 18 cm long
Weight: About 25 to 40 g
Habitat: Sandy open ground, pine woods, field edges, coastal dunes and yards
Diet: Small seeds, berries and insects
In Georgia: Resident in the south and on the coast; scarcer farther north
Voice: A soft, repeated, rising "woo-up"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Tiny, plump, grey-brown dove; scaly-looking head and breast; short tail; bright rufous wing patches in flight
Told apart from: A young mourning dove, which is larger with a long pointed tail and no rufous in the wing
Told apart from: Sparrows, which have thick seed-cracking bills
Where to look: On the ground in sandy yards, pine woods and dunes

Behaviour

Common ground-doves walk quietly on the ground, bobbing their heads as they pick up tiny seeds. Pairs stay together much of the year and nest repeatedly through the warm months.

Why they matter

The smallest dove in Georgia, the ground-dove depends on open, sandy ground with seeds and scattered cover — habitats kept open by fire and grazing. It has declined in parts of the Southeast as open pine woods and old fields have been lost.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A flimsy platform on the ground, a stump or a low branch
Eggs — Usually two
Incubation — About 12 to 14 days
Nestlings — Fed crop milk; leave the nest at about 11 days
Broods — Several a year
Lifespan — A few years

Living around people

Free-roaming cats take many ground-doves; keeping cats indoors helps them.
Sandy, lightly mowed yards with seed-bearing plants suit them.

Misconceptions

A tiny dove is a baby. Common ground-doves are fully grown at sparrow size.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Pairs on sandy ground	Pairs	Nesting begins	Nesting	Nesting	Nesting	Nesting	Nesting	Last nests	Small groups	Small groups	Pairs

Where it lives

Recorded in 39 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

United States

If you found one

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