In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included a description and an illustration of the speckled pigeon in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds.

Edwards was told that the pigeons had been brought from the inland region of Guinea in West Africa.

Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba guinea and cited Edwards' work.

This species builds a large stick nest on protected rocky outcrops and in urban areas often atop covered pergola pillars and on flat roofs under deep eaves and lays two white eggs.

Its flight is quick, with regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings that are characteristic of pigeons in general.