Leptotila Explained

Leptotila is a genus of birds in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. These are ground-foraging doves that live in the Americas.

The genus Leptotila was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1837 with the Caribbean dove Leptotila jamaicensis as the type species.^{[1] [2]} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek leptos meaning "delicate" or "slender" with Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ptilon meaning "feather".^[3]

The genus contains the following 11 species:^[4]

• White-tipped dove, Leptotila verreauxi
• Yungas dove, Leptotila megalura
• Grey-fronted dove, Leptotila rufaxilla
• Grey-headed dove, Leptotila plumbeiceps
• Pallid dove, Leptotila pallida
• Azuero dove, Leptotila battyi – split from the grey-headed dove
• Grenada dove, Leptotila wellsi
• Caribbean dove, Leptotila jamaicensis
• Grey-chested dove, Leptotila cassinii
• Ochre-bellied dove, Leptotila ochraceiventris
• Tolima dove, Leptotila conoveri

Notes and References

1. Book: Swainson, William John . William John Swainson . 1837 . On the Natural History and Classification of Birds . 2 . London . John Taylor . 349 .
2. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1937 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 3 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 122 .
3. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . limited . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 222 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . 2020 . Pigeons . IOC World Bird List Version 10.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 15 March 2020 .