Description

Male mostly ruddy brown with gray head; wings with a few black spots; primaries and secondaries flash rufous in flight. Female duller brown and paler below, but back still distinctly brown.

Habitat

Abundant in clearings, shrubby areas, and around habitations in lowland on both slopes, ranging up in smaller numbers into foothills and rarely to lower highlands.

Habits and Behavior

Small flocks gather on grassy lawns and fields where they crouch close tot he ground while feeding; at one's approach they walk away with bobbing heads, flying off with a whirr when one gets too close. The male's call is a soft hoo-whoop, hoo-whoop..., repeated 3 to 10 times at a slower pace than Plan-breasted Ground-Dove's call; it is usually given from a low perch.