The Croaking Ground Dove is distributed from south-west Colombia along the coast through Ecuador and Peru to north-west Chile. It is also found more inland in the drier Andean valleys mainly in Peru. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in a variety of open habitats up to about 2,800 metres.

It is distinguished by the yellow-orange base to the bill and the chestnut coloured bar on the scapulars which can look just dark in poor light.

Its voice is very undove-like described in Birds of Peru by Tom Schulenberg, et al. as "a series of flatulent notes descending slightly in pitch".