The thick-billed ground dove is an extinct dove species of the family Columbidae.
Region
Melanesia (Solomon Islands)
Typical Environment
Historically restricted to parts of the Solomon Islands archipelago, where it occupied lowland and foothill rainforest. It likely favored dense understory and leaf-littered floors that offered cover from predators. Forest edges, secondary growth, and riparian thickets would have provided additional foraging sites. Like many Pacific island ground-doves, it was highly vulnerable on small islands with invasive predators.
Altitude Range
unknown
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The thick-billed ground dove was an extinct dove of the family Columbidae, formerly endemic to the Solomon Islands. It was last collected in the late 19th century and likely vanished due to a combination of habitat loss and introduced predators such as rats and cats. Very little was documented about its natural history, but like other ground-doves it probably foraged quietly on the forest floor.
Temperament
secretive and wary
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Probably occurred singly or in pairs, foraging quietly on the ground under cover. Nesting details are unknown, but ground-doves typically build simple twig nests low in vegetation. Parental care in Columbidae is biparental, with both sexes producing crop milk.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Not formally described; likely a soft, low coo typical of ground-doves. Vocalizations were probably subdued and used for close-range contact in dense cover.
Plumage
unknown
Diet
Likely included small seeds, fallen fruits, and invertebrates taken from the leaf litter. It would have picked and probed quietly while remaining concealed. Opportunistic feeding on small snails or insects, as seen in related species, may have occurred.
Preferred Environment
Forages on the shaded forest floor with deep litter, especially in dense understory and along edges and stream banks. May have used small clearings and natural pathways to search for fallen fruit and seeds.
