Gray-chested Dove

How to find it

Listen for it first, since it is heard far more often than seen. Start early, because it sings in the early morning. Look for it walking quietly along shady trails and roadsides, especially early and late in the day. Once you hear a song, scan the shaded ground rather than the canopy. Move slowly and expect one bird or a pair, since a disturbed bird tends to walk away instead of flying.

How to recognise it

This is a medium-sized dove, about 22.5 to 28 cm long. It is darker than the White-tipped and Gray-headed Doves.

Look for these marks:

- a white throat

- a dark gray chest and a dark wine-colored belly (reddish-gray on the breast, reddish below)

- a yellow eye, pale yellow-green when seen close up

- reddish bare skin around the eye

- red legs and feet

On the southern Pacific slope of Costa Rica it also shows a brown patch on the back of the head. In flight it shows less white in the outer tail tips than White-tipped and Gray-headed Doves, and it is darker than both.

What it sounds like

Recording: Richard Littauer, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Usually seen alone or in pairs, this dove forages on the ground in the shade. It eats fruit, seeds and grit.

When disturbed it usually walks quietly away instead of flying, so you may get a calm view of it on the forest floor.

In Costa Rica it breeds in two periods, and the nest is a shallow twig platform 1 to 5 m up.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it is a common resident of the Caribbean slope and the south Pacific, and it seldom reaches north to Puntarenas. It lives in secondary forest and humid forest undergrowth and edges, from sea level to about 750 m. On the Caribbean side it is found only up to 750 m. In some southern Pacific spots it reaches 1200 m, where it is rare. Across its wider range it is also found in coffee and cacao plantations and in evergreen lowland forest.

When to see it

In Costa Rica it breeds in two periods, February to May and July to September. At Las Cruces in the south it was noted singing at about 5:30 to 9 am in September, so it sings in the early morning.

Similar birds

Gray-headed Dove often lives in the same habitat and also has red skin around the eye, and it is dark too. The brown hind crown and the longer song separate the Gray-chested, so check overall tone and chest color. White-tipped Dove lacks the red eye skin, and close up its orange eye differs from the pale yellow-green eye of the Gray-chested.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Besides the AOCR name Paloma Pechigrís (Yuré), Spanish sources list paloma montaraz pechigrís, tórtola ojirroja (red-eyed dove) and paloma pecho gris.

Status and conservation

The AOCR official list marks it as a resident (R) in Costa Rica, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Because it walks away quietly instead of flying, shady trails and roadsides at the start or end of the day can offer a calm view on the forest floor. Listen first, then scan the shaded ground.