Galapagos dove - Islands birdlife

The small Galapagos dove is endemic to the islands and is found in the more arid parts of the main islands.  A process of evolution on Genovesa Island has softened the spines of cactus plants and thereby allowed the Galapagos dove access to pollinate the flowers.  This has occurred due to the lack of bees that would normally perform this function.

One of the more pleasant birds to encounter on the islands is the Galapagos dove (Zenaida galapagoensis), a pretty, tame and well-mannered creature. It is reddish brown with black and white markings, touches of incandescent green, red feet and a bright blue eye ring. Its bill is curved downward, larger and more curved than most other doves. Though usually very silent, its low call reminds some of a mourning dove.

Its primary characteristic, however, is its tameness -- pirates from the 18th century told of doves landing on their hats and shoulders, and visitors frequently spot a dove just a few feet away with a curious look in its eye. This tameness has had its price: according to ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson, ten men on Santiago Island ate 39,000 doves in three months. Darwin records meeting a boy armed only with a stick who came to the same water well every day to "procure a little heap of them for dinner."