Best time to see: all year

Key facts

Pale dove, commonly seen in gardens and towns

Habitat: towns and gardens, hedges and fields

Widespread resident, first colonising from the Balkans in the 1950s and spreading rapidly

Recognition

Pale buff plumage with thin black line on neck; shows white tail-tip in flight; 30 cm

Thrive near buildings, sitting on rooftops and wires and calling softly Play

Feed in fields and parks and increasingly at bird tables, eating grain and seeds

Lifecycle

Nest is a platform of twigs in tree

Usually two, sometimes more broods of 2 white eggs, March to September