[7][8][9] Two other subspecies were formerly sometimes accepted, S. d. stoliczkae from Turkestan in central Asia and S. d. intercedens from southern India and Sri Lanka;[10] they are now considered junior synonyms of the species.

A maid who worked hard for little money was unhappy that she was only paid 18 silver coins a year and begged the gods to let the world know how little she was rewarded by her mistress.

Zeus, hearing her pleas, created the collared dove, which has called out "decaocto" ever since to tell the world of the maid's mistreatment.

[14][15] In several Balkan languages, the number 18 is a three-syllable word (e.g. tiz-en-nyolc in Frivaldszky's native Hungarian), so is ultimately onomatopoeic from the bird's call.

The two sexes are virtually indistinguishable; juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris.

The Eurasian collared dove also makes a harsh loud screeching call lasting about two seconds, particularly in flight just before landing.

Its original range at the end of the 19th century was warm temperate and subtropical Asia from Turkey east to southern China and south through India to Sri Lanka.

In 1838 it was reported in Bulgaria, but not until the 20th century did it expand across Europe, appearing in parts of the Balkans between 1900 and 1920, and then spreading rapidly northwest, reaching Germany in 1945, Great Britain by 1953 (breeding for the first time in 1956), Ireland in 1959, and the Faroe Islands in the early 1970s.

[28][29] However, the species is known as an aggressive competitor and there is concern that as populations continue to grow, native birds will be out-competed by the invaders.

[33] While the spread of disease to native species has not been recorded in a study, Eurasian collared doves are known carriers of the parasite Trichomonas gallinae and pigeon paramyxovirus type 1.

[24][28] Both Trichomonas gallinae and pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 can spread to native birds via commingling at feeders and by consumption of doves by predators.

[34] The male's mating display is a ritual flight, which, as with many other pigeons, consists of a rapid, near-vertical climb to height followed by a long glide downward in a circle, with the wings held below the body in an inverted "V" shape.