Pigeons and Doves - Bird of the Month February 2014

[Flutterby]

The Red-eyed Dove (Grootringduif) (Streptopelia semitorquata) is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common, if not abundant, species in most habitats other than desert.

The Red-eyed Dove is a largish, stocky pigeon, typically 34 cm in length. Its back, wings and tail are pale brown. When flying, it shows blackish flight feathers. The head and underparts are dark pink, shading to pale grey on the face. There is a black hind neck patch edged with white. The legs and a patch of bare skin around the eye are red. The call is a loud doo-doo-du-du. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults, and have scalloping on the body feathers.

This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white eggs. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general.

Red-eyed Doves eat grass seeds, grains and other vegetation. They often forage on the ground. They are not particularly gregarious and often feed alone or in pairs.

[Lisbeth]

Red-eyed Dove

[Flutterby]

The African Mourning Dove or Mourning Collared Dove (Rooioogtortelduif)(Streptopelia decipiens) is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. Despite its name, it is not a close relative of the North American Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura. This species is common or abundant near water. They often mingle peacefully with other doves.

The African Mourning Dove is a largish, stocky pigeon, up to 31 cm in length. Its back, wings and tail are pale brown. The head is grey and the underparts are pink, shading to pale grey on the belly. There is a black hind neck patch edged with white. The legs and a patch of bare skin around the eye are red. When flying, it shows blackish flight feathers and extensive white in the tail, the latter being a distinction from the similar but larger Red-eyed Dove. Sexes are similar, but immatures are duller than adults, and have scalloping on the body feathers. Their flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general.

Their call is a fast krrrrrrrr, oo-OO, oo.

They eat grass seeds, grains and other vegetation. They are quite terrestrial, and usually forage on the ground. Unlike several other species in this genus, they are quite gregarious and often feed in groups. They build stick nests in trees and lay two white eggs.

[nan]

African Mourning Dove

22.3.2011 Sirheni

[Amoli]

I just loved the way this laughing dove 'blew up' when calling....





The laughing dove is a beautiful bird to photograph...



Cape turtle dove



Namaque dove in Rietvlei



Green Pigeons at Punda Maria

[Super Mongoose]

Stunning sightings and pics Amoli!

[nan]

superb the laugh at the Laughing Dove

[Flutterby]

Great pics Amoli!! Lucky to see the Namaqua Dove at Rietvlei!

[Flutterby]

The Lemon Dove or Cinnamon Dove (Kaneelduifie)(Columba larvata) differs from the other African pigeons of the genus Columba by its terrestrial habits and the white face and forehead of adult males; it is therefore sometimes separated in the genus Aplopelia.

It is fairly small, measuring 24–30 cm in length and weighing 81.7–150 g. Adult males have a plumage that is dark brown above, glossed green on sides of neck, and cinnamon brown below. As noted, they have conspicuous white face markings. The feet, iris and orbital skin are red, the bill is black. Females and young males are generally similar, with a lighter brown plumage and dull grey facial markings. The males of western African subspecies have a dark grey plumage.

The Lemon Dove is distributed in montane forests of Africa. The diet consists mainly of various small fruits, seeds, molluscs and insects. The female usually lays two creamy white eggs.

Widespread throughout its range, the Lemon Dove is evaluated as a Species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species but, it seems to be declining in some parts of its range.

[Flutterby]

The African Green-Pigeon (Papegaaiduif) (Treron calvus) is one of 5 Green Pigeon species in the Afrotropics. As with others in their genus, they frequent tree canopies where their parrot-like climbing ability enable them to reach fruit, but rarely also forage on the ground. The species has a wide range in Sub-Saharan Africa with around 17 accepted races.

Adult birds have maroon shoulder patches (olive in immatures) and rufous undertail coverts. They reach a length of 25–28 cm. Their call is a series of flowing whistles, rendered as ‘thweeeloo, thweeeoo’. They inhabit riparian forest, woodland and savanna, where they associate with fruiting trees, especially wild fig species. They also take fruit of Saffrons, Jacket plum, Buffalo thorn, Water berry and Jackalberry. They may also feed on exotic Loquats and Mulberries, or on carrion by occasion.

They may occur and breed in high densities but are prone to regular local movements. They nest in a tree fork that offers an adequate vantage point of their surrounds. The nest is a weak platform of sticks, collected by the male and arranged by the female. Nesting may take place in any month of the year, though mostly in summer. 1-2 eggs are laid that hatch in 13–14 days. Chicks leave the nest at about 12 days.