These doves are native to Australia and New Guinea but are closely related to the Zebra Dove of south-east Asia and the Barred Dove of eastern Indonesia and can be found all over Australia except Tasmania, southern Victoria and south western Australia.
They are very common here and you see them in pairs or small flocks almost everywhere: in streets, gardens, scrublands, woodlands and school grounds etc.
They feed on the ground mainly on the small seeds of grasses and sedges, and sometimes small insects, because they need to drink at least twice a day they are generally near water.
Males and females look the same and breeding occurs from March to June in northern Australia. The nest is a small, flimsy platform of twigs, grasses and roots in trees or shrubs, including in garden and street trees. Both parents produce "crop milk", which is secreted by cells from the lining of the crop, and this highly nutritious substance is fed to the young.
The terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably, in practice there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones.