The Grenada dove (''Leptotila wellsi'') is a medium-sized

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. 3 ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

dove 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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. Originally known as the pea doveLawrence, G. N. (1884). Characters of a new species of ''Engyptila'', from the island of Grenada, West Indies. ''Auk'' 1:180. or Well's dove,Goodwin, Derek. (1970). ''Pigeons and Doves of the World''. British Museum (Natural History): London it is the

national bird This is a list of national birds, including official birds of overseas territories and other states described as nations. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status. National birds See al ...

of Grenada. It is considered to be one of the most critically endangered doves in the world (Bird Life International 2000).

Description

The Grenada dove is characterised by a white throat; face and forehead pale pink shading to dull brown on crown and nape; upperparts olive brown; underwing chestnut; neck and upper breast pink-buff fading to white on lower breast, belly and undertail coverts.

Origin

First described in 1884 by Lawrence as a member of the genus ''Engyptila'', it was established as a distinct species using sonographic analysis by Blockstein and Hardy (1988). Now officially known as the Grenada dove, it was designated as the national bird in 1991 and is one of the

flagship species In conservation biology, a flagship species is a species chosen to raise support for biodiversity conservation in a given place or social context. Definitions have varied, but they have tended to focus on the strategic goals and the socio-economi ...

for conservation efforts in Grenada.Rosenburg, J., and F.L. Korsmo. (2001). Local participation, international politics, and the environment: the World Bank and the Grenada dove. ''Journal of Environmental Management'' 62: 288-300.

Distribution and habitat

The Grenada dove is a little-known species endemic to the main island of Grenada,

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Historically, it has been recorded from locations throughout Grenada, including offshore islands, and the type specimen was collected from Fontenoy, on the west coast. Some surveys imply that Grenada doves are associated with

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) ...

communities in the west and southwest parts of the main island (Blockstein 1988, Blockstein and Hardy 1989, Bird Life International 2000).Blockstein, D. E. (1991). Population declines in the endangered endemic birds on Grenada, West Indies. ''Bird Conservation International'' 1: 83-91. True dry forest ecosystems are remnants of a type of xeric scrub habitat that dominated the West Indies at the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

, and most areas classified as dry forest in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

are mosaics of degraded habitat, and do not represent natural ecosystems (Murphy and Lugo 1986, Vidal and Casado 2000). Beard noted the degraded nature of forested areas in Grenada in 1949.Beard, J. S. (1949). ''The natural vegetation of the Windward and Leeward Islands''. Oxford, Clarendon Press. Results from the Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Conservation Project indicate that Grenada doves are found most often in areas composed primarily of degraded mosaics of evergreen forest.Rivera Lugo, P. J. R. (2005). ''Composition and structure of Grenada's forest in relation to the Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi) habitat''. Grenada, W.I., Grenada Dry forest Biodiversity Conservation Project: 1-109. Unpublished report.Plume, D. 2005. Report on classification of Grenada IKONOS Satellite Imagery. Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Conservation Project, St. Georges, Grenada. The overall uniting factors in Grenada dove habitat issues are the degraded nature of the habitat and close proximity to human habitation. This is readily apparent at the Mount Hartman sanctuary, which is an old government cattle farm with vegetation composed primarily of exotic species such as ''

Leucaena leucocephala ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing Mimosoideae, mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names inc ...

'' and ''Heamatoxylon''. Populations of doves associated with the old

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

below Jean Anglais, in the Richmond Hill Watershed, are under heavy pressure from

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

for private homes, and are well outside the boundaries of the Mount Hartman Sanctuary as are most Grenada doves.Clouse, L. J., and B. L. Rusk. (2004). ''Grenada dove census 2003/2004''. Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Ecosystem Project, St. George’s, Grenada.Jackson and Associates. (1998). ''Plan for the Mount Hartman national park and Perseverance sanctuary''. Unpublished report. Project Implementation Unit Government of Grenada, Grenada, W.I. Mount Hartman could be considered prime cattle habitat and has been developed as such until recent times. Rivera Lugo has suggested that past disturbance may have created new artificial vegetative cover types that are difficult to classify as natural forest communities. Recent classification of land cover types through satellite imagery found that Grenada's dry forest might be more appropriately considered as ecological complexes, and that there may be correlations between human influence and vegetative cover. The Rivera Lugo investigations suggest that Grenada doves are using a mixture of three seasonal forest formations: semi-evergreen forest, deciduous seasonal forest, and thorn woodlands. These categories are based on work by Beard and are applied widely throughout the Caribbean. Beard considered the thorn woodland seasonal formation to be a highly degraded habitat created by heavy grazing and intensive agricultural practices. Additionally, preliminary surveys and recent census data indicate Grenada doves occur in both highly fragmented semi-urban areas and more rural environments composed sometimes of highly contrasting levels of housing and economic development. Other members of the genus ''Leptotila'' are reported to use a variety of habitats, ranging from areas associated with human disturbance, deciduous woodlands, humid forests, thickets, and semi-arid areas (Goodwin 1993).Skutch, A. F. (1964). Life histories of Central American pigeons. ''Wilson Bulletin'' 76: 211-247. Grenada doves have been documented in south-western Grenada within the Mount Hartman, Clark's Court Bay, and Richmond Hill watersheds (Blockstein 1988, Blockstein and Hardy 1989).Wunderle, J. (1985). An ecological comparison of the avifaunas of Grenada and Tobago West Indies. ''Wilson Bulletin'' 97(3): 356-365. The Mount Hartman watershed has received the greatest amount of scientific investigation and is considered by other researchers to be the representative habitat for the species (Blockstein 1988, Blockstein and Hardy 1989). Part of this watershed has been designated as a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

and is the only official national park in Grenada. Grenada doves also have been recorded from western Grenada (Blockstein 1988, Blockstein and Hardy 1989). The most recent distribution census included individuals from the Beausejour, Perseverance, Woodford, and Black Bay watersheds. Part of the Perseverance watershed, adjacent to the island's new sanitary landfill and across the street from the old landfill, has been established as a Grenada dove sanctuary. This area includes a designated travel corridor to link areas of habitat on the north and south sides of the new landfill. The old landfill is currently on fire and has been burning since February 2004. An emergency landfill, which has been established to accommodate the large volume of debris created by

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlan ...

in early September 2004, is encroaching on the Perseverance sanctuary.

Behaviour

Breeding

Grenada doves are assumed to be territorial, and current population estimates are based on this assumption. Grenada doves in the Mount Hartman area have been observed fighting (Blockstein 1988), and other ''Leptotila'' species show varying degrees of territorial behaviour (Goodwin 1983). Herbert Bright maintained captive ''Leptotila'' doves in England and documented a breeding pair killing other congeneric doves introduced to the aviary.Bright, H. (1926). Nesting of the Well's dove. ''Avicultural Magazine'', page 221. Bright refers to these birds as Well's doves, although his physical descriptions of the birds indicate that they may have been ''L. verrauxi'' imported from

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

. Only one active Grenada dove nest has been documented. This nest was active during January and February and was found in a

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

. Juveniles also have been found on the ground and photographed by Grenada's Forestry and National Parks Department (FNDP) staff; no nest was documented for this encounter. Additionally, there is a record of a dove flushing from a nest. Bright noted that ''Leptotila'' doves in captivity abandoned their nest when disturbed, but by using artificial nesting substrates, he successfully collected eggs and hand-reared young. Bright's doves produced two buff-coloured eggs per clutch. This is consistent with literature reports from other members of the genus (Goodwin 1983). The majority of information on the nesting ecology for the genus is associated with ''Leptotila verrauxi''. Studies indicate that ''L. verrauxi'' primarily nests on edges and interiors of brushlands and forest dominated by ''

Pithecellobium ''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which r ...

ebano'' and ''

Celtis laevigata ''Celtis laevigata'' is a medium-sized tree native to North America. Common names include sugarberry, Southern hackberry, or in the southern U.S. sugar hackberry or just hackberry. Sugarberry is easily confused with common hackberry ('' C. oc ...

'' (Boydston and DeYoung 1987, Hayslette et al. 2000), and nests are located in a wide variety of nesting substrates (Hayslette 1996, Hogan 1999).

Diet

Grenada dove were documented consuming ''Carica papaya'' (Papaya) during diet studies associated with Grenada Dry Forest Ecosystem Protection Project. Observations have been made of Grenada doves foraging on the ground (Blockstein 1998). ''Leptotila'' in captivity have been documented consuming mealworms. Other ''Leptotila'' species have been observed eating fruits, seeds, and agricultural grain. ''L. verrauxi'' is known to visit

bird feeder A birdfeeder, bird table, or tray feeder are devices placed outdoors to supply bird food to birds (bird feeding). The success of a bird feeder in attracting birds depends upon its placement and the kinds of foods offered, as different species h ...

s (Goodwin 1983), and other members of the genus have been observed eating fruit from the forest floor (Estrada ''et al.'' 1984, Coates-Estrada and Estrada 1986), as well as directly from plants (Goodwin 1983).

Conservation

Very little is known about this species. Population estimates by various researchers indicate that there may be fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild (Blockstein 1988), and declines in numbers may have occurred between 1987 and 1991. The last published population estimates were produced by David Blockstein in 1991. Results of point count surveys conducted during research associated with the Grenada Dry Forest Ecosystem Protection Project indicate very low numbers of the dove immediately following Hurricane Ivan. Only five birds were documented calling simultaneously in the Mt. Hartman Watershed during April–June 2005 and only three birds were calling during August–December 2005 in the same areas. During the August–December time period five birds were documented in the Clarks Court Bay watershed and four were documented in the Beausejeur watershed using point count methods.Twyman, W. and Hayslette, S. (2007). ''Grenada Dove Biology''. Grenada, W.I., Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Conservation Project: 1-71. Unpublished report. This dove is classified as critically endangered by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. The Grenada Government – in cooperation with the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

– set up two reserve zones in 1996 to preserve the dove: the Perseverance and adjacent Woodford Estates, which are adjacent to a landfill and abandoned quarry site, in the west of the island and a sanctuary of c. within the Mount Hartman Estate, a former government cattle farm and sugarcane plantation, in the south. Camera surveys of the Mount Hartman area failed to record the presence of Grenada doves there immediately following Hurricane Ivan in 2005 and only eighteen encounters with Grenada doves occurred during April–December 2005. According to some studies, the Mount Hartman Sanctuary was never considered adequate for the dove's survival and other understudied populations are located along the western coast in the Beausejour and Black Bay watersheds. Some of these populations have been recognised since the 1980s. Further populations may exist but there has never been a complete island-wide survey to verify this.

Threats

The primary threat to the Grenada dove is considered to be habitat fragmentation (Birdlife International 2000). As early as 1947,

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

indicated that one of the primary causes of rarity and extinction for avifauna in the West Indies was habitat destruction by human activities. Jackson and Associates noted many factors that could affect Grenada dove populations, including land development, livestock grazing, and harvesting of firewood, the underlying cause being lack of land development regulation. Active charcoal pits were discovered adjacent to the Grenada dove visitor centre and charcoal damage was noted in all areas of known Grenada dove habitat during 2005 surveys.Twyman, W.D. (2008). Grenada Dove ecology in a post hurricane environment. M.S.thesis, Tennessee Technological University In addition to habitat destruction, predation may affect Grenada dove populations. There may have been two separate introductions of exotic species on Grenada. Of these, the

common opossum The common opossum (''Didelphis marsupialis''), also called the southern or black-eared opossum or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Paci ...

, ''Didelphis marsupialis'', which was originally introduced to Grenada by

Amerindians The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Ame ...

, is a potential predator of all life stages of the Grenada dove, and other manicou species (''

Marmosa The 27 species in the genus ''Marmosa'' are relatively small Neotropical members of the family Didelphidae. This genus is one of three that are known as mouse opossums. The others are '' Thylamys'' (the "fat-tailed mouse opossums") and '' Tlacua ...

'' spp.) are potential nest predators. Exotic mammals introduced with European colonisation include ''

Rattus ''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus. Species and description The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the black rat (''R. rattus'') ...

'' species, Indian mongooses (''Hepestes aropunctatus''),

Mona monkey The mona monkey (''Cercopithecus mona'') is an Old World monkey that lives in western Africa between Ghana and Cameroon. The mona monkey can also be found on the island of Grenada as it was transported to the island aboard slave ships headed to ...

s (''Cercopithicus mona'') and

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

s (''Felis silvestris''). Rats were the most abundant predator documented during the Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Conservation Project. This same project only documented one feral cat in the Mt. Hartman Watershed. Hunting may have affected the population in the past, and the Grenada dove has previously been regulated as a

game bird Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are ofte ...

. Currently, hunting is not considered a major threat.

Mount Hartman Estate

In late 2006, information was released stating that the Government intended to sell a portion of Mount Hartman Estate to a private promoter for development as a tourist resort under the probable management of

Four Seasons Hotels Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.Da ...

. The Grenada Government issued a statement stating that any new project within the Mount Hartman Estate would have to respect the dove

sanctuaries A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

and that any project would have to meet the criteria of providing a " win-win" situation. BirdLife International and other organisations questioned whether a "win-win" situation could be achieved. BirdLife International, with other organisations (including the

American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Its focus is on threats to birds in the Western Hemisphere – threats which include ov ...

) and private individuals (including authors

Graeme Gibson Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson (9 August 1934 – 18 September 2019) was a Canadian novelist.Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

) campaigned against the proposed development. The original development plan for the resort included 255 villas, a hotel, and an 18-hole golf course. Due to pressure from opponents of the development, the plan for the resort was reduced from 255 villas to 173, although the hotel and golf course were retained.

Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Protection Project

There is very little information for this species that has been peer reviewed and very little research has taken place on the species. The most thorough scientific investigation to date is associated with the Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Protection Project.Dry Forest Biodiversity Conservation (GEF-MSP) Project ID: P057021
/ref> Unfortunately most of the documents associated with this project are unavailable to the public and are not currently available through the GEF Website.

References

External links

Four Seasons Project Report

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q905437

Grenada dove The Grenada dove (''Leptotila wellsi'') is a medium-sized New World tropical dove. It is endemic to the island of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Originally known as the pea doveLawrence, G. N. (1884). Characters of a new species of ''Engyptila' ...

National symbols of Grenada Birds of Grenada Endemic birds of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of Grenada