East Africa hosts incredible dove diversity. From tiny Namaqua doves scurrying rodent-like through dust to massive African green pigeons gorging on figs. Red-eyed doves coo from every garden and woodland; their call is the quintessential African soundtrack.

Laughing doves inhabit drier regions, while emerald-spotted wood doves carpet forest floors. Speckled pigeons colonize cliffs and buildings Africa’s “urban pigeons.

Ring-necked doves prefer savannas, and tambourine doves haunt montane forests with haunting calls. The spectacular Pemba green pigeon exists only on that island. Watch green pigeons—clumsy, fruit-drunk acrobats clambering through canopies.