19) ~Socorro Dove~

More about 19) ~Socorro Dove~

**Socorro Dove - Zenaida graysoni

Former Range: Socorro Island, Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico

Status: Extinct in the Wild - survives only in captivity (fewer than 200 individuals worldwide)

Description & Behavior:
The Socorro Dove is a soft-brown, chestnut-hued bird once native to Socorro Island, a remote volcanic outcrop in the Pacific Ocean, 600 km off the Mexican coast.
Its plumage glowed with an earthy warmth - reddish-chestnut breast fading to gray-blue wings - and a distinctive coo, slower and deeper than that of its mainland relatives, echoed through the island’s canyons and misty woodlands.

Calm, monogamous, and ground-feeding, it foraged among the leaf litter beneath Guettarda and Ficus trees, feeding on seeds, berries, and small invertebrates.
Each dawn, pairs would perform delicate courtship rituals - bowing and cooing in the amber light of the island’s volcanic ridges - a tender rhythm of life that would one day vanish.

The Lost Island Paradise:
Socorro Island was once a biological treasure chest - a cradle of endemism, where species evolved in isolation: the Socorro parakeet, mockingbird, and this gentle dove.
But isolation is both a gift and a curse.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, human settlers brought cats, sheep, and other invasive animals to the island.
The forest floor, once quiet and safe, became a battlefield.
The doves, trusting and ground-nesting, had no defense.
By the 1970s, every wild Socorro Dove was gone - its voice silenced by purring predators and bleating livestock.

The last confirmed wild sighting was in 1972.
After that, only the rustle of leaves and the echo of a vanished call remained.

Threats (Historical):
Invasive Cats: Main cause of extinction - they preyed heavily on ground-nesting doves.
Habitat Degradation: Sheep overgrazing destroyed undergrowth and forest regeneration.
Isolation: Small island ecosystems are especially vulnerable to imbalance and disease.
Human Settlement: Logging and land conversion reduced nesting areas.

Conservation & Hope:
Yet the Socorro Dove’s story is not over.
Before extinction in the wild, a handful of birds were sent to zoos in Europe and North America - unknowingly saving the species from oblivion.
From these few founders, dedicated conservationists began the Socorro Dove Recovery Program, a global cooperative breeding effort led by institutions like the Frankfurt Zoo, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and Mexico’s SEMARNAT.
Through careful genetic pairing, they’ve built a population of about 150-200 birds in captivity - a fragile but living ember of a lost species.
In recent years, reforestation on Socorro Island (after the removal of sheep) and ongoing cat eradication efforts have opened a path for possible reintroduction.
Some captive doves are being acclimatized in pre-release aviaries in Mexico - hearing the ocean winds their ancestors once knew.