The peaceful dove (''Geopelia placida'') is a

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. The peaceful dove is closely related to the

zebra dove The zebra dove (''Geopelia striata''), also known as the barred ground dove, or barred dove, is a species of bird of the dove family, Columbidae, native to Southeast Asia. They are small birds with a long tail, predominantly brownish-grey in col ...

south-east Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

and the

barred dove The barred dove (''Geopelia maugeus'') is a small dove that is native and endemic to the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is closely related to the zebra dove of southeast Asia and the peaceful dove of Australia and New Guinea. It inhabit ...

of eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Until recently, the three were classed as a single species, ''Geopelia striata'', known as peaceful dove or zebra dove.

Description

The bird is a relatively small pigeon and varies in length from 19 to 21 centimetres (7.6 to 8.4 inches). The peaceful dove has a pink-grey breast with chequered grey-brown

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

s. Thin striations of black appear around the neck and

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...

area and descend down the back. The eye is greyish-white and a blue-grey ring surrounds the eye that tapers off and joins the

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food ...

cere The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, ...

. The juveniles are paler and less striated. They also have a duller eye ring. The nape is similar to that of the

bar-shouldered dove The bar-shouldered dove (''Geopelia humeralis'') is a species of Geopelia, long tailed dove native to Australia and Southern New Guinea. It is protected under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974''. It is a medium-sized pigeon varying in s ...

in that the nape

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

s are striated but differs in that the bar-shouldered dove does not have striated throat feathers like the peaceful dove. Furthermore, the nape feathers are grey-brown in colour compared to the vivid copper colour seen with bar-shouldered doves. Calls of the peaceful dove are high-pitched "doodle-doo", "co-co-coo" and "croorrr!".

Behaviour

The peaceful dove is found in pairs, groups and flocks. They feed off the ground and are found commonly in streets and gardens. They also are found in scrublands,

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams are ...

s, railyards and on the edge of

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s. When not found on the

ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...

feeding, they can be found in trees roosting. The doves

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

in a rapid, undulating motion. The wings make a flushing "frrr" noise when the birds are in flight.

Nesting

Breeding occurs from October to January in southern Australia and from March to June in northern Australia.

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

s are built on horizontal branches of trees. Two white eggs are laid. The doves are very aggressive to other birds when breeding.

Distribution

They can be found all over Australia except

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, southern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and south western Australia . Unfortunately, the doves' range is reducing due to competition with the introduced spotted turtle dove. In New Guinea they are mainly found in the south of the island but also occur at a few sites in the north and on the

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a po ...

References

* Coates and Peckover (2001), ''Birds of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago: a photographic guide'', Dove Publications, * Pizzey and Knight, ''Field Guide to the Birds of Australia'', Angus & Robertson, * Trounsen and Trounsen, ''Australian Birds: A Concise Photographic Field Guide'', Cameron House. .

External links

Peaceful dove
Avibase

Rainforest-Australia {{Taxonbar, from=Q650277

peaceful dove The peaceful dove (''Geopelia placida'') is a pigeon native to Australia and New Guinea. The peaceful dove is closely related to the zebra dove of south-east Asia and the barred dove of eastern Indonesia. Until recently, the three were classed as ...

Birds of Australia Birds of New Guinea