Pigeons are among the most common birds in the world, but many people don’t know that there are many different species of pigeons and doves, and some of them are seriously endangered.
The IUCN (opens in new tab) currently lists 13 species of pigeon as critically endangered and 17 species as endangered. There are also another 29 classed as vulnerable and a further 48 near threatened.
13 may not sound like many, considering that there are over 300 species in the Columbidae family (pigeons and doves), but more than a hundred species fall into these four groups.
The lists below follow the current IUCN Red List assessments for birds, which BirdLife International carries out. New surveys change these statuses from time to time.
Critically Endangered Pigeons:
1. Grenada Dove
Endemic to the island, Leptotila wellsi AKA the Grenada Dove is the national bird of Grenada. The 2021 assessment, based on a 2013 survey, put the number of mature individuals at 136-182.
Loss of forest habitat is the bird’s biggest threat but in the recent past, the Grenada dove has suffered population loss due to the introduction of predatory exotic species.
2. Negros Bleeding Heart
Endemic to Panay and Negros, two islands of the Philippines, the Gallicolumba keayi lives in forested regions.
Massive habitat loss and indiscriminate hunting by humans for food consumption have led to a severely fragmented population.
Last assessed in 2021, there are fewer than 250 Negros bleeding heart pigeons in the wild.
3. Mindoro Bleeding Heart
This species is a type of ground dove and is only found in the forests of the Filipino island of Mindoro.
Less than 250 Gallicolumba platenae exist and numbers continue to decrease due to habitat loss, predation by feral dogs and cats and also hunting by humans for food consumption.
4. Tooth-Billed Pigeon
Little is known about Didunculus strigirostris other than its numbers are extremely low (50-150 mature individuals in the 2025 assessment).
The tooth-billed pigeon is a large species endemic to Samoa where its preferred habitat is the island’s undisturbed forests.
Sadly, this means their range is greatly restricted and they also face future habitat loss, predation and harsh climatic events such as cyclones.
5. Sulu Bleeding Heart
Another endangered pigeon of the Philippines, the Gallicolumba menagei is found only on the island of Tawi-Tawi and its surrounding islets.
Most of their preferred habitat of closed canopy forest has been cleared and there are no protected areas.
So few numbers exist that there is genuine concern that the species is close to extinction.
6. Rapa Fruit Dove
Making its home on the tiny island of Rapa, one of the Tubuai Islands in French Polynesia, numbers of the Ptilinopus huttoni continue to decline.
They live in two to five locations in the forests of the island and this habitat has degraded due to the introduction of the strawberry guava plant for agriculture.
Two surveys conducted first in 1990 then in 2017, showed a decrease of 40% in the population. Numbers continue to decline.
7. Negros Fruit Dove
Very little is known about Ptilinopus arcanus which lives on the islands of Negros and Panay in the Philippines.
Apart from a confirmed sighting in 1953, a reported sighting in the 1990s and a few discovered on Panay Island, it has been impossible to establish how many birds of this species there are.
It is believed to be close to extinction as it is still at risk of habitat loss and hunting.
8. Silvery Pigeon
Once considered extinct but thanks to a few reported sightings now classified as critically endangered, the silvery pigeon (Columba argentina), also known as the grey wood pigeon, is found in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Even so, according to assessments in 2019, there are less than 50 mature individual birds left thanks to disappearing habitat and predation by introduced species.
9. Cebu Brown Dove
This species was once thought to be extinct, until it was rediscovered in the 1990s.
The Phapitreron frontalis is endemic to the island of Cebu in the Philippines where its forest habitat is under constant threat of clearance for agricultural and urban activity.
10. Blue-Eyed Ground Dove
The rapidly depleted dry lowland grasslands of Brazil’s Cerrado region are home to less than 250 Columbina cyanopis (As assessed in 2019).
The blue-eyed ground dove went unrecorded for decades after 1941 and was feared extinct, until a small group was found in 2015.
11. Purple-Winged Ground Dove
With its primary locations being the Atlantic bamboo forests of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, Paraclaravis geoffroyi has been depleted drastically thanks to the wild bird trade and habitat loss.
The 2025 assessment puts the population at fewer than 50 mature birds, and recent records are very scarce.
12. Polynesian Ground Dove
Assessed at just 150 in number in 2017, Pampusana erythroptera is endemic to some of the islands of French Polynesia.
The biggest threat to the species in the recent past has been black rats, although measures have been taken to remove rats from some islands. Other threats are cat predation, habitat loss and degradation, and natural disasters such as cyclones. Conservation work is ongoing.
13. Black-Naped Pheasant Pigeon
Living in forest above about 1,000 m on Fergusson Island in Papua New Guinea, Otidiphaps insularis is threatened by habitat loss and hunting.
For decades it went unrecorded by scientists, though local people continued to report it. The July 2021 assessment estimated 49–250 birds, probably at the lower end. In 2022, an expedition filmed the bird for the first time in well over a century.
As well as providing an estimate of population numbers, the IUCN also signifies the population trend. Nine of the 13 critically endangered pigeons are classified as decreasing. For the other four (Sulu bleeding-heart, Negros fruit dove, Cebu brown dove and purple-winged ground dove) there are too few records to judge a trend.
Endangered Pigeons:
| Species | Location | Number | Threats | Population Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue-headed quail dove | Cuba | 600-1700 | Deforestation | Decreasing |
| Tawitawi brown dove | Tawitawi and Sanga-Sanga islands, Philippines | 500-2500 | Deforestation | Decreasing |
| Timor green pigeon | Timor Leste and West Timor, Indonesia | 660-2000 | Deforestation and hunting | Decreasing |
| Marquesas ground dove | Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia | 50-249 | Deforestation, predation (cats) and climate change | Stable |
| Wetar ground dove | West Timor and Wetar, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste | 1500-7000 | Severe lowland habitat loss and hunting. | Decreasing |
| Comoro green pigeon | Comoros Islands | 1000-2499 | Deforestation, invasive species and illegal poaching | Decreasing |
| Tuxtla quail dove | Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Mexico | 250-999 | Loss of habitat | Decreasing |
| Polynesian imperial pigeon | Makatea, French Polynesia | 570-1200 | Habitat destruction due to mining | Increasing |
| Raiatea Fruit-dove | Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora and Maupiti, French Polynesia | 1000-2499 | Introduction of the predator Swamp harrier, hunting and degradation of habitat. | Decreasing |
| Purple quail dove | Chocó region Colombia and North-west Ecuador | 600-1700 | Loss of habitat due to coca production and mining. | Decreasing |
| Nukuhiva Imperial-pigeon | Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia | 200-249 | Illegal hunting, habitat loss and degradation. | Increasing |
| Santa Cruz ground dove | Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands and Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu | 218-1070 | Predation by rats, cats and dogs, yellow crazy ants, hunting, volcanoes and cyclones. | Decreasing |
| São Tomé olive pigeon | São Tomé | 2600-3700 | Hunting. | Decreasing |
| White-fronted quail dove | Dominican Republic | 600-1700 | Habitat loss, hunting, introduced species. | Decreasing |
| Caroline ground dove | Various islands in the Federated States of Micronesia | 200-500 | Introduced species, hunting, loss of habitat. | Decreasing |
| Palau ground dove | Palau | 250-999 | Introduction of alien species and habitat loss. | Decreasing |
| São Tomé green pigeon | São Tomé | 24670-72840 | Hunting in extremely large numbers. | Decreasing |
As you can see from the last entry on this list, the population doesn’t have to be small to be classed as endangered. The São Tomé green pigeon is suffering a massive decline in numbers because of domestic and commercial hunting and its rate of loss is of huge concern.
It shows that a species can be listed as threatened because of a fast decline, not only because of small numbers.
Why Do Pigeons Become Endangered?
An endangered species means it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the most well-recognized catalogue of threatened species. The data is compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (opens in new tab).
The reasons for reducing numbers of endangered pigeons are the same as for any animal. They are:
- Overhunting or overharvesting
- Habitat loss
- High specialisation
- Pollution
- Invasive species
- Human-wildlife conflict
- Disease
- Low birth rate
- Genetic vulnerability
- Small population
Vulnerable Pigeons:
The current list is:
- Yellow-legged pigeon
- Ochre-bellied dove
- New Britain bronzewing
- Ring-tailed pigeon
- Mindanao bleeding-heart pigeon
- Dark-eared brown dove
- Brown-backed dove
- Pink pigeon
- Pale-capped pigeon
- Chatham pigeon
- Makatea fruit dove
- Spotted imperial pigeon
- Carunculated fruit dove
- Flores green pigeon
- Sri Lanka woodpigeon
- Large green pigeon
- Philippine collared dove
- Henderson fruit dove
- Red-naped fruit dove
- White-naped pheasant pigeon
- Yellow-eyed pigeon
- Scheepmaker’s crowned pigeon
- European turtle dove
- Grey-headed quail dove
- Western crowned pigeon
- Pemba green pigeon
- Micronesian imperial pigeon
- Cinnamon-headed green pigeon
- Jambu fruit dove
Of the list above all are seeing decreasing population numbers except for the pink pigeon (stable), Chatham pigeon (increasing), Makatea fruit dove (stable), and the Henderson fruit dove (stable).
Near Threatened Pigeons:
We’re not going to list all 48 members of the Columbidae family that are classified as near threatened but will highlight a few and tell their stories.
1. Nicobar Pigeon
One of the most striking looking of the Columbidae birds, the Nicobar pigeon is the closest living relative of the extinct dodo.
The current population size is unknown. It is hunted for food and caught for the pet trade, and its gizzard stones have been used to make jewellery.
2. Galapagos Dove
Most people would assume that the Galapagos Islands are a haven for wildlife as it’s a location that receives so much ecological scrutiny.
One of its species that isn’t in such great shape numbers-wise is the Galapagos dove.
Unlike many species on these lists, which are threatened mainly by habitat loss and hunting, its main threats are introduced predators such as feral cats. Nestlings can also be attacked by the larvae of the avian vampire fly (Philornis downsi).
3. Victoria crowned pigeon
This is one of the largest pigeons in the world and lives in the lowland forests of northern New Guinea. It is easy to recognise by its size and its lacy crest.
The Victoria crowned pigeon is classed as near threatened because it is hunted, both locally and commercially, for its meat and feathers.
4. Russet-crowned quail dove
This species shows how planned human projects can affect wildlife.
The population of this species is currently listed as stable but the russet crowned quail dove is classed as near threatened by the IUCN because of the threat that would arise should the proposed extension of the Pan-American highway be revived.
5. Plain pigeon
Once abundant and widespread in the Caribbean, the plain pigeon has undergone considerable decline.
It is now only known in Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico.
The expanse of the plain pigeon’s habitat has been eroded due to plantation agriculture and logging and in the past, the species was also hunted as food.
The Reality of Threatened Status
Conservationists use these IUCN classifications to set priorities.
Critically endangered species face a real risk of extinction.
Many governments protect critically endangered and endangered species, and some near threatened species also benefit from conservation work.
More than a dozen members of the Columbidae family are listed as extinct.
They include the Choiseul pigeon, Passenger pigeon, Liverpool pigeon, and of course, the talisman of all extinct wildlife, the Dodo.
Sources
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (opens in new tab)
- BirdLife International DataZone (opens in new tab): species factsheets with Red List category, population estimate and trend
- HBW and BirdLife International (2025) Digital checklist of the birds of the world, version 10 (opens in new tab) (2025 Red List categories)
Last updated 28 October 2026 · Facts