Eavesdrop on the Winter Bird Calls of the Lower Rio Grande Valley
Green Jays, Audubon's Orioles, Plain Chachalacas—this subtropic bird paradise is a lively place all year long.
Adult. Photo: Vince Smith/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Leptotila verreauxi
Conservation status | Numbers holding up very well in undisturbed habitats in southern Texas. As long as habitat remains, probably not too vulnerable to hunting pressure in tropics. |
---|---|
Family | Pigeons and Doves |
Habitat | Shady woodlands, river thickets. In southern Texas, found in any kind of dense low growth; most common in native woodland, but also found in second growth. Within its wide range (from Texas to Argentina) found in many habitats, but mostly drier or more open woods, avoiding unbroken rain forest. |
Forages mostly on ground, walking about in woodland undergrowth; may sometimes forage in low trees or shrubs. In some parks in southern Texas, will come birdseed or other food put out for them. Several may concentrate at sources of food, but usually solitary, not sociable like many doves.
2. Pale buff, fading to white. Incubation is probably by both parents, about 14 days. Young: Both parents presumed to feed young "pigeon milk." Development of young and age at first flight not well known.
Both parents presumed to feed young "pigeon milk." Development of young and age at first flight not well known.
Probably seeds and berries. Diet not well known. Evidently eats many seeds, including those of grasses, mesquites, and elms; also berries and fruits, including those of hackberry and prickly pear cactus. May eat some insects.
In courtship on ground, male may hunch shoulders, lower head, run a few steps toward female, then stop and coo. Also may have bowing display. Nest site is in dense low tree, thorny shrub, or tangle of vines, usually less than 15' above the ground, perhaps sometimes on the ground. Usually placed on horizontal fork of branch. Nest (probably built by both sexes) is a platform of sticks and weed stems, usually quite flimsy.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
Green Jays, Audubon's Orioles, Plain Chachalacas—this subtropic bird paradise is a lively place all year long.
Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program.
Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk.
Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives.