''Columbina'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of small doves in the family

Columbidae Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

that live in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. They range from the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and much of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. ''Columbina'' doves are normally found in pairs or small

flocks Flocking is the behaviour exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. Computer simulations and mathematical models that have been developed to emulate the flocking behaviours of birds can also generally be applie ...

and generally occur in open country. They have maroon irides and pinkish legs. In flight, some species show a distinctive flash of rufous in the wings, while others show black-and-white wing-patterns. The genus was introduced in 1825 by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix. The name is from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''columbinus'' meaning "of a dove" or "dove-like". The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

was designated as the ''C. strepitans'' by English zoologist

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray FRS (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years. He was the younger brother ...

in 1841. This taxon is now considered as a subspecies of the

picui ground dove The Picui ground dove or Picui dove (''Columbina picui'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook ...

''Columbina picui strepitans''. The genus contains nine species: *

Inca dove The Inca dove or Mexican dove (''Columbina inca'') is a small New World dove. The species was first described by French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1847. It reaches a length of and weighs . The Inca dove has an average wingspan of 2 ...

, ''Columbina inca'' *

Scaled dove The scaled dove (''Columbina squammata''), also known as scaly dove, Ridgway's dove, mottled dove, and South American zebra dove, is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It ...

, ''Columbina squammata'' *

Common ground dove The common ground dove (''Columbina passerina'') is a small bird that inhabits the southern United States, parts of Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It is considered to be the smallest dove that inhabits the United State ...

, ''Columbina passerina'' *

Plain-breasted ground dove The plain-breasted ground dove (''Columbina minuta'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It lacks the scaled appearance to the feathers of the similar and typically more abundant common ground dove. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoolog ...

, ''Columbina minuta'' *

Ecuadorian ground dove The Ecuadorian ground dove (''Columbina buckleyi'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The Ecuadorian ground dove and three other species were for a time placed in genus '' ...

, ''Columbina buckleyi'' *

Ruddy ground dove The ruddy ground dove (''Columbina talpacoti'') is a small New World tropical dove. It is a resident breeder from Mexico south to Brazil, Peru and Paraguay, and northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago. Individual birds can sometimes be see ...

, ''Columbina talpacoti'' *

Picui ground dove The Picui ground dove or Picui dove (''Columbina picui'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook ...

, ''Columbina picui'' *

Croaking ground dove The croaking ground dove (''Columbina cruziana'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Baptista, L. F., P. W. Trail, H. M. Horblit, P. F. D. Boesman, E. de Juana, and E. F. J. Garcia ...

, ''Columbina cruziana'' *

Blue-eyed ground dove The blue-eyed ground dove (''Columbina cyanopis'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Cerrado region of Brazil. Taxonomy and systematics The blue-eyed ground dove was for a time placed in the monotypic genus ...

, ''Columbina cyanopis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133550 Bird genera