The croaking ground dove (''Columbina cruziana'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

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 ...

. It is found in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

.Baptista, L. F., P. W. Trail, H. M. Horblit, P. F. D. Boesman, E. de Juana, and E. F. J. Garcia (2020). Croaking Ground Dove (''Columbina cruziana''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.crgdov1.01 retrieved September 15, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The croaking ground dove and

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'') are sometimes considered

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021 The croaking ground dove is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The croaking ground dove is long. Males weigh about and females . The adult male's head is bluish gray, and its upperparts brownish gray. The central tail feathers are darker gray, and the outer ones black with white tips. The closed wing shows a dark bar and lines of dark spots. The breast and underparts are mauve pink. The eye is red with a white outer ring and is surrounded by bare yellow skin. Its fairly long bill is bright yellow near its base. The adult female's head is brown and the wing markings are less intense than the male's. Juveniles are similar to the female but their feathers have buffy tips.

Distribution and habitat

The croaking ground dove is found near the Pacific coast from Nariño Department in extreme southwestern Colombia through Ecuador and Peru to Chile's

Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro D ...

. Its range in Peru also includes the more inland Marañón Valley. It inhabits arid and semi-arid landscapes with scrub and riparian thickets, and is often found in farmland, gardens, and parks. Though it is mostly a bird of the lowlands, it can be found as high as in some areas.

Behavior

Feeding

The croaking ground dove forages on the ground for seeds, but no details have been published.

Breeding

The croaking ground dove has bred in every month but September and October in the human-inhabited areas of southwestern Ecuador, but might be shorter away from human settlement. The species usually nests in bushes or trees and has also been recorded to nest on the ground and on building ledges, earthen banks, and low cliffs. The clutch size can be one to three, but is usually two.

Vocalization

The croaking ground dove's song is unlike that of any other dove, "a burry low-pitched overslurred ''rrRwl''. It also produces some soft grunts and growls.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the croaking ground dove as being of Least Concern. It appears to be common and increasing throughout its range, in part because it " apts successfully to anthropogenic habitats".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q775383

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 ...

Birds of Ecuador Birds of Peru

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot