This slender Eurasian species is similar in size and shape to Mourning Dove. The head and underparts are pinkish-tan, fading to white on the undertail coverts, with a patch of black and white streaks on the sides of the neck. Males have a gray crown which contrasts with the nape, and a salmon-pink cast to the breast. The crown and breast on females tends to be a uniform warm tan. The wing coverts and tertials are blackish with broad rufous edges. The primaries and secondaries are blackish, with a faint rufous cast. The tail is dark with white outermost feathers and a white tip on the outer few sets of feathers. A fairly large patch of dull reddish skin surrounds the eye. The iris is orange. Legs and feet are dull reddish. Juvenile: Young birds lack the black and white patch on the neck. The scapulars and tertials are blackish in the center with rufous on the edges, but these feathers lack the clearly defined rufous edges seen on adults. The primaries and secondaries are blackish with thin rufous edges.

Length: 26 (cm) Wingspan: (cm)

Habitat:

Woodland edges, hedgerows.

Behavior:

Very timid.

Feeding:

Forages on the ground for seeds and insects.