In beach thickets of northern Florida I saw many GROUND DOVES with bobbing heads, walking daintily. They were extremely tame and almost disputed my right to be in their territory. One pecked disdainfully at my shoe as I moved slowly forward. Some turned aside, eyeing me curiously; others whirred into the brush like miniature Quail.
Pearson, having found their nests from February until September, says the breeding season extends an unusually long period. An entirely different character of nesting site is chosen at different times of year: in early Spring, tops of rotting stumps were selected; later, open fields; in July, August and September, orange trees or grapevine branches.
Some individuals are pugnacious and often attack larger birds when food is threatened.
Gulf Coast into western Texas and southern Arizona, Florida and Keys.