North GroundHuntNorth Ground Hunt — return to North Ground
Species authority page

White-tipped dove

Leptotila verreauxi · Doves and pigeons · Migratory game birds

White-tipped dove (Leptotila verreauxi): 25-30 cm, round-bodied and short-tailed with pale eyes. Lacks the black ear spot and black wing spots of Mourning Dove. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the white-tipped dove map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Leptotila verreauxi
Family
Columbidae
In North America
Native
Range
Permanent resident from northern Mexico and southern Texas (lower Rio Grande Valley) south to southern Brazil, Uruguay and eastern Argentina.
Biology

How to identify it

25-30 cm, round-bodied and short-tailed with pale eyes. [1][2]

Lacks the black ear spot and black wing spots of Mourning Dove. [1][2]

Rich dark chestnut under the wings in flight. [1][2]

Sexes similar. [1][2]

Compared with the mourning dove: White-tipped is much rounder-bodied and shorter-tailed with pale eyes, and lacks the black ear spot and black wing spots. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a white-tipped dove before you act. Compared with the mourning dove: White-tipped is much rounder-bodied and shorter-tailed with pale eyes, and lacks the black ear spot and black wing spots.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Shady woodlands and river thickets; in southern Texas any dense low growth, most common in native woodland but also second growth. Elsewhere in its range mostly drier or more open woods; avoids unbroken rain forest. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Forages mostly on the ground, walking in woodland undergrowth; sometimes in low trees or shrubs [1][2]

Usually solitary, not sociable like many doves; a few may gather at food sources [1][2]

Eats seeds (grasses, mesquite, elm), berries and fruits such as hackberry and prickly pear, and possibly some insects [1][2]

Song is a deep, drawn-out, descending coo lower pitched than most of our pigeons and doves [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Permanent resident from northern Mexico and southern Texas (lower Rio Grande Valley) south to southern Brazil, Uruguay and eastern Argentina.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society

  2. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe