Pallid Dove

About the Pallid Dove

The pallid dove (Leptotila pallida) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The pallid dove is monotypic. It, the grey-fronted dove (Leptotila rufaxilla) of South America, the grey-headed dove (L. plumbeiceps) of South and Central America, the Azuero dove (Leptotila battyi) of Panama, and the Grenada dove (L. wellsi) of Grenada were at one time thought to be a single species. It has also been treated as a subspecies of grey-fronted dove.

The pallid dove is 23 to 26 cm (9.1 to 10.2 in) long. The male has a white forehead, face, and throat, a gray crown, and a purplish gray nape and hindneck. The sides of the neck and the breast are pale red and the belly white. Its upperparts are chestnut-brown with some chestnut-red markings. The hindneck and upper mantle have some purple iridescence. The outer tail feathers are dark chestnut with white tips. The eye is yellow and surrounded by bare red skin. The bill is black and the legs and feet pinkish red to brownish red. The female has less of a reddish tone on the upperparts and its pink and gray areas are duller. Wikipedia →