Socorro Dove

The Socorro Dove (Zenaida graysoni) is a dove that is extinct in the wild. It was endemic to Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Islands off the west coast of Mexico. The last sighting in its natural habitat was in 1972. There are not more than 200 and probably fewer than 100 purebred birds in captivity. A reintroduction program is in the early stages of preparation.

It is a close relative of the Mourning and Eared Doves, particularly the former and was at one time considered its subspecies. In captivity, it hybridizes vigorously with the former and almost all privately-owned birds as well as several of the captive breeding programs that lack a pedigree are known or strongly suspected to be such hybrids. They are excluded from the reintroduction program as there is evidence of unique adaptations in the Socorro species. The scientific name commemorates Zénaïde Laetitia Julie Bonaparte and the American ornithologist and artist Andrew Jackson Grayson.