Grenada Dove
Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List)
The Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi) is Grenada's national bird – found nowhere else on Earth, and critically endangered. Based on 2013 estimates, fewer than 250 individuals remain (River-Millán et al., 2015; Rusk, 2017). This page covers what threatens its survival, the coordinated conservation action underway, and how ongoing research and monitoring inform recovery efforts. For a full species overview, see the Grenada Dove Fact Sheet.
A Species on the Edge
The Grenada Dove is more than a rare endemic species – it is a symbol of national identity, declared Grenada's national bird in 1991, featured on the country's stamps, and celebrated in educational programs across the island (Peters, 2022). It is an irreplaceable part of Grenada's natural heritage: once lost, it is gone forever.
The dove survives in just two small, fragmented populations – one centered on the southwest coast around Mt. Hartman Estate, which supports nearly half the remaining birds, and another along the west coast stretching from Perseverance to Beausejour and Grenville Vale (Peters, 2022; Rusk, 2017). These populations were likely connected historically but are now genetically and physically isolated, separated by approximately 9 km of urban development (Peters, 2022; Rusk, 2017). Although both Mt. Hartman and Perseverance Dove Sanctuary offer some degree of protection, together they cover less than 10% of the species' habitat (Bolton et al., 2016; Peters, 2022).
The threats facing the Grenada Dove cascade and amplify each other. Habitat loss from development, agriculture, and fire destroys the dry coastal forest the dove depends on, while invasive predators – mongoose, rats, feral cats, and opossums – prey on eggs, fledglings, and adults, creating persistent challenges for breeding success (Peters, 2022; Rusk, 2017). Extreme weather can devastate populations in a single event, as Hurricane Ivan demonstrated in 2004. And with so few individuals remaining, the population carries the added burden of low mitochondrial genetic diversity and a potentially male-biased sex ratio (Peters et al., 2023; Peters, 2022) – both of which constrain recovery even when other conditions improve.
A Plan for Recovery
The Grenada Dove has had recovery plans before, but implementation has historically been fragmented. In October 2025, over 70 participants – government agencies, conservation organizations, researchers, landowners, and community representatives – came together to develop a new ten-year Conservation Action Plan (CAP). The process used collaborative threat mapping to understand how pressures interact and amplify each other, rather than treating them in isolation.
The CAP charts a coordinated path forward across seven interconnected themes – habitat protection, invasive species control, research and monitoring, community engagement, policy and legislation, institutional strengthening, and climate resilience. Each theme has distributed ownership across partners, with working groups established to coordinate implementation. A newly established Grenada Dove Collaborative will sustain coordination beyond the initial planning phase.
The CAP was funded by the American Bird Conservancy, with additional support from BirdsCaribbean and Birding Islands.
Research & Monitoring
Understanding the Grenada Dove – its population size, habitat needs, genetic health, and long-term trajectory – is fundamental to its recovery. Research and monitoring efforts spanning nearly four decades inform every conservation decision, from habitat protection priorities to invasive species management.
Today, monitoring combines territory mapping, acoustic recording, habitat assessment, and breeding surveys across both populations. All protocols and findings are openly accessible through the Grenada Dove Research Repository (OSF), which serves as the institutional memory for Grenada Dove research – ensuring consistency as personnel change and allowing new researchers to build on decades of prior work.
