CLIPBOARD : BREEDING BIRD: COMMON GROUND DOVE (Columbina passerina)

Description: This stocky dove has a small scaly head and breast and stubby black tail. It may have pink or yellow feet. Rounded wings flash dark chestnut primaries and wing linings in flight. Males have slate-gray heads and are pinkish-gray below. Females are gray overall. Length: 6 1/2 inches.

Habitat: Suburbs, flatlands, cultivated fields, roadsides.

Diet: Seeds, waste grain, fruits, few insects.

Displays: In courtship, male struts in front of female, puffing out feathers, bowing head and cooing softly.

Nest: Simple, flimsy nest of loose sticks and grass. Frequently nests in planters. Will reuse nest for subsequent broods.

Eggs: White, unmarked. Length: 0.8 inches.

Call: Monosyllabic-sounding woo-oo, woo-oo, woo-oo, etc. Or a soft, ascending wah-up .

Notes: Walks briskly with head nodding. Rapid flier. Range expanding north of Orange County.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas, call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Indicates 5-kilometer-square areas where breeding activity has been confirmed.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).