The Shy Ground Dove is a ground-dwelling dove of Polynesian islands. It searches for seeds, fruit, and insects on the ground and in the forest understory.
It is rufous to dark brown, with a black bill and purplish-red legs. In adult birds recorded in American Samoa, males have purple wing coverts, white lower breast, and a grey crown; females have brown wings and crown.
It eats seeds, fruit, buds, snails, and insects, foraging on the ground and in the forest understory.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.