Common Ground-Dove
Columbina passerina

This bird inhabits the southern United States, parts of Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The Common Ground Dove is perhaps the smallest dove that inhabits the United States.
Called the “ground-dove” for good reason, these birds forage on the ground, eating several thousand seeds a day. They nest and spend most of their time on the ground. This makes them vulnerable to a wide variety of predators.
Science has divided this species into 19 subspecies:
- C. p. pallescens lives in the American Southwest and northwestern Mexico, and south through Mexico and northern Central America.
- C. p. socorroensis or Socorro Ground-Dove lives on Isla Socorro (Mexico).
- C. p. neglecta lives in Central America.
- C. p. passerina lives in the southeastern USA along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
- C. p. bahamensis lives on Bermuda and throughout Bahamas.
- C. p. aflavida lives in Cuba.
- C. p. insularis lives on the Cayman Islands and Hispaniola.
- C. p. jamaicensis lives on Jamaica.
- C. p. umbrina lives on islands off the northeast coast of Haiti.
- C. p. exigua lives on Mona Island between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
- C. p. portoricensis lives on Puerto Rico.
- C. p. nigrirostris lives on the Lesser Antilles.
- C. p. trochila lives on Martinique and St. Lucia.
- C. p. antillarum lives on the Antilles from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, south to Grenada, and on Barbados.
- Plus another five in South America (C. p. albivitta, C. p. parvula, C. p. nana, C. p. quitensis, and C. p. griseola).
In the USA, our meetings are limited to C. p. pallescens, and C. p. passerina. I was lucky enough to meet the Socorro Ground-Dove (C. p. socorroensis) on our first afternoon on Isla Socorro during a February 2017 science expedition to the Archipielago de Revillagigedo.

Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona 2016-05-21. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:27 13:49 |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 |
File Name: JCD2685CommonGroundDove |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona 2008-11-27. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:27 13:52 |
Location:
Reid Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD2703CommonGroundDove |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona 2008-11-27. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:27 13:51 |
Location:
Reid Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 |
File Name: JCD2695CommonGroundDove |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Cut-out image from a meeting at Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona 2008-11-27. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:27 13:49 |
Location:
Reid Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 |
File Name: Cut_JCD2685CommonGroundDove |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: I was able to use my vehicle as a *blind* to capture these shy birds at Poe Road, Salton Sea NWR. Imperial County, Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2014:11:30 13:33 |
Location:
Poe Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X3206-CommonGroundDove |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Near Lindsey Road. Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California 2009-07-04. |
Date Taken: 2009:07:04 15:14 |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: JCD1549.CommonGroundDove |
© 2009 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Near the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea in Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2014:07:26 8:42 |
Location:
Salton Sea |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: D3X6472-CommonGroundDove |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: The 'Bird & Butterfly Garden' at The Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:04:22 12:25 |
Location:
Tijuana River Regional Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X5010-CommonGroundDove |
© 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Cattle Call Park, Brawley, California. Imperial County. |
Date Taken: 2011:10:12 14:31 |
Location:
Cattle Call Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X3491-CommonGroundDove |
© 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Cattle Call Park, Brawley, California. Imperial County. |
Date Taken: 2011:10:12 14:29 |
Location:
Cattle Call Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X3466-CommonGroundDove |
© 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: I was able to use my vehicle as a *blind* to capture these shy birds at Poe Road, Salton Sea NWR. Imperial County, Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2014:11:30 13:33 |
Location:
Poe Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X3222-CommonGroundDove |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Poe Road, Salton Sea NWR. Imperial County, Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2014:11:30 13:33 |
Location:
Poe Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X3211-CommonGroundDove |
© 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Salton Sea in Imperial County, near Sinclair Road. Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2015:10:17 8:28 |
Location:
Salton Sea |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/25 |
File Name: D721058-CommonGroundDove |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Our first afternoon on Isla Socorro. The largest of the islands in the Archipielago de Revillagigedo, and part of the state of Colima, Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2017:02:15 16:23 |
Location:
Marine Base |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: CommonGroundDove_D5X7978 |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Our first afternoon on Isla Socorro. The largest of the islands in the Archipielago de Revillagigedo, and part of the state of Colima, Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2017:02:15 16:24 |
Location:
Marine Base |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: CommonGroundDove_D5X7982 |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Salton Sea in Imperial County, near Sinclair Road. Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2015:10:17 8:26 |
Location:
Salton Sea |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/125 |
File Name: D721028-CommonGroundDove |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Common Ground-Dove(Columbina passerina) |
Description: Common Ground Doves are shy but scattered thoughout the Imperial Valley where I met them on my final push home from Texas in 2020 and passed through Brawley, California where I paid a visit to Cattle Call Park. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:28 12:17 |
Location:
Cattle Call Park |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: CommonGroundDove_D5X6676-CattleCall-Brawley |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

Click map markers to reveal further information