Bird Guide

Grey-headed Dove vs White-tipped Dove

Grey-headed Dove (Leptotila plumbeiceps)

Grey-headed Dove

Leptotila plumbeiceps

Medium170 gForest

The grey-headed dove is 23.5 to 26 cm (9.3 to 10.2 in) long and weighs 139 to 205 g (4.9 to 7.2 oz). The adult male of the nominate subspecies has a pale bluish gray forehead and a slightly darker crown, nape, upper mantle, and sides of the neck. The rest of the face is pinkish buff. The throat and belly are white and the breast is pale pink. The upperparts are olive brown with a rufous wash. The central tail feathers are dark olive brown and the outer three are black with white tips. The bill is black and the legs and feet are pink. Voice: The grey-headed dove's song is "a single mournful monotonous note 'wooOOOoo' which fades in and out."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Tommy Andriollo · CC BY 4.0
White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi)

White-tipped Dove

Leptotila verreauxi

Medium147 gShrubland

The dove is about 28 cm (11 in) long and weighs 155 g (5.5 oz). Adult birds of most races have a grey tinge from the crown to the nape, a pale grey or whitish forehead and a whitish throat. The eye-ring is typically red in most of its range, but blue in most of the Amazon and northern South America. The upperparts and wings are grey-brown, and the underparts are whitish shading to pinkish, dull grey or buff on the chest. The underwing coverts are rufous. The tail is broadly tipped with white, but this is best visible from below or in flight.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the White-tipped Dove
Recorded by steve · Song · Frontera Audubon Society (near Weslaco), Hidalgo County, Texas, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: iNaturalist user: carnifex · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Grey-headed Dove and White-tipped Dove.