Populations in the higher latitudes tend to migrate south in winter, while those closer to the tropics are sedentary.

Some of the populations of Streptopelia turtur that occur on the eastern edge can be very similar in appearance to S. orientalis and in the past the two species have been lumped together.

The differences in the tail patterns of the subspecies S. o. orientalis and S. o. meena help separate identification in their wintering grounds.

It shares the black and white striped patch on the side of its neck made of silver-tipped feathers, but the breast is less pink, and the orange-brown wing feathers of the turtle dove are replaced with a browner hue, and darker centres giving a scaly appearance.

[10] The southernmost populations are resident, but most other birds migrate south to winter in India, the Maldives, and southern Japan.

It is also a vagrant to northern and western Europe and occurrences in Britain tend to gather much attention from twitchers.

[14][15] In Japan the principal predators of nestlings and eggs were crows and magpies and to a lesser extent cats and snakes.

[16] The Oriental turtle dove is granivorous, and feeds on the seeds of hemp, sunflower, wheat, millet and amaranth.

[17] Nests in Japan that have accumulated faeces have been found to host a number of flies belonging to the families Sphaeroceridae, Sepsidae, and Stratiomyidae.

[19] Deaths of a number of birds due to avian pox virus have been recorded in South Korea.

[20] On Hongdo Island, Korea, migratory doves were found to carry seeds of the exotic Achyranthes japonica attached to their plumage.