Zenaida galapagoensis
Silhouette: Danielle Alba · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Galápagos dove (Zenaida galapagoensis) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It is fairly common and is found in a wide range of open and semi-open habitats, especially in the arid lowlands of the archipelago.
Two subspecies exist: Zenaida galapagoensis galapagoensis (Gould, 1839) – the nominate subspecies. Found on the major islands of the Galapagos, with the exception of Darwin Island and Wolf Island. Found only on Darwin Island and Wolf Island.
Despite the geographic isolation of the bird on different islands, there is significant gene flow between the different island populations, owing to frequent migration between islands. This has not entirely prevented the formation of subspecies however, as environmental factors such as wind currents, distance between islands, and even ocean currents affect where birds travel. Yet their impressive flight ability has ensured that the species remains fairly homogenous across the islands, unlike the Galapagos hawk (which has significant variations in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Galápagos Islands, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Galápagos Dove sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 4,978 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 114 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–July and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Galápagos Dove in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against about 30% in December and January, the lowest months. Those are among Galápagos Islands's driest months, with almost no rain against 50 mm in March.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Galápagos Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Galápagos Islands, in our data
Galápagos Islands is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Galápagos Dove sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Galápagos Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Galápagos Islands (4,978 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
