Subtly beautiful shuffling pigeonlike bird with a small head, striking black belly, and pale breast that contrasts with white underwings and black wingtips. Tail is relatively short. Males have a gray head and neck and an orangey throat while females are densely spotted all over. Both sexes have a broad creamy breast band bordered by an eye-catching black stripe. Call is a low, bubbling trill. Most often seen in the mornings when visiting water sources, sometimes in huge flocks, in deserts and semi-deserts with low vegetation.