Galápagos Dove

The Galápagos dove grows 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in) long and weighs in at 67–92 g (2.4–3.2 oz). The long black bill is slightly curved downwards. The feet and legs are reddish with some purple. A boldly marked bird, the Galápagos dove has dark reddish-brown upperparts, a pinkish neck and breast, a buff-coloured belly, and brown wings, streaked with white and black. The skin around the eye is deep blue with a black border. The eye itself is brown. An iridescent patch is found on the side of the neck. The scapular feathers and the wing-coverts are black with a white stripe in the middle running down the length; this makes the wings appear streaked. The underparts of the wings are grey to blue. The central tail feathers are brown and the outers are grey. Females are quite similar to the males, but are smaller – as is the size of their iridescent patch. They also have darker back, wings, and tail.

The long downward curved beaks on the Galápagos dove helps it feed mostly on seeds and fruits from the ground. Very reluctant to fly, it will only do so as a last resort. Galápagos doves spend most of their time on the ground searching for food, mainly feeding off seeds, caterpillars, and Opuntia cactus flowers and pulp. On islands where bees are absent, the Opuntia cacti have evolved softer spines. This may allow birds, including the dove, better access to the flowers, with bird activity serving to pollinate the flowers. The doves mostly crush seeds before eating them, but ingest some seeds whole, some of which survive digestion – making the bird a source of plant distribution in the Galapagos.