Galápagos Dove: Facts and Where to See It

The Galápagos dove has dark reddish-brown upperparts, a pinkish neck and breast, a buff belly and brown wings streaked with black and white. The skin around its brown eye is deep blue with a black border, and an iridescent patch shines on the side of the neck. Its long, slightly down-curved black bill suits a life on the ground.

• Reluctant flier. It flies only as a last resort and spends most of its time on the ground searching for food.
• Seed spreader. It crushes most seeds before eating them, but some pass through whole and grow, which makes the dove a plant disperser.
• Acting injured. When its nest is threatened, it pretends to be hurt to lure the predator away.

Galápagos doves live in dry, rocky lowlands with scattered trees, bushes and Opuntia cactus. One subspecies lives on Culpepper (Darwin) and Wenman (Wolf); the other on all the other major islands. They are rare on some islands and common on others, and do best away from settlements and on islands free of predators. Nests sit on the ground, in rock cavities, or in old mockingbird nests.

Guide sighting records list doves at 4 sites, all rated Possible: Punta Suárez on Española, Darwin Bay on Genovesa, Santa Fé Bay and Rábida Beach. Watch the ground along the trail.

Galápagos doves live in the islands all year, and active nests have been found in most months. In the next twelve months, 773 departures stop at a site where they are seen.

BirdLife lists it as Near Threatened and declining, by an estimated 20 to 29 percent over three generations. The main driver is probably predation by feral cats. In the past, its tameness made it easy to hunt; sailors once killed 60 to 70 in a single morning, and the birds would sit on their heads and shoulders. Doves are much less tame today, and hunting has decreased. The parasitic fly Philornis downsi also affects nestlings.

1. Looking in the trees. Doves feed on the ground.
2. Feeding them. Park rules forbid feeding wildlife.
3. Walking straight at one. Keep at least 2 metres away, as park rules ask.