[2] C. oliviae is a mid-sized pigeon with pale grey coloration, a mauve cap, yellow eyes and an iridescent collar with bronze-green tones.

Unlike various species of collared doves with which its range overlaps, it lacks a characteristic dark band on the hind-neck.

[3][4] The exact distribution is unclear, but its range encompasses much of northeast Somalia, especially along the coast, including both the country proper and the unrecognized state of Somaliland.

[1][3][4] As of February 2022, on eBird, a site that collects bird population data based on user-provided information, only six observations of the Somali pigeon have been made[3] in over four hundred thousand checklists submitted throughout the African continent[5] (and over sixty million worldwide[6]).

The bird is featured on the one shilling coin's obverse[7] of the internationally unrecognized East African republic of Somaliland's official currency.