Turtle Dove
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
With a smaller head and longer neck, the Turtle Dove is more slender and more graceful than many pigeons.
The head is gray-blue, the back is brown with feathers edged in reddish-brown. The tail is grayish with the tips of all feathers white. Display plumage of the neck is a patch of black feathers, each tipped with pale blue, with the center nearly white. Females and the young are similar, but the colors are paler. The bill is straight and narrow.
DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:
Turtle doves breed in the southern parts of Europe and in western Asia and North Africa. In the British Isles it is most common in southern and eastern England.
In September, the Turtle dove leaves Europe for its winter quarters in Africa, returning the following year.
BEHAVIOR:
Unlike other birds, pigeons and doves do not sip when drinking, but instead they immerse their bill, sucking up water.
All pigeon and dove species move about in flocks during the day and roost together at night. These birds begin the morning with a chorus of calls before the flock sets out to feed and drink. They then return to their perching place where they stay during the hottest part of the day. In the afternoon they again go off to feed and drink, finally retiring at night. Such regular habits allow them to adapt quite easily to captivity.
DIET:
Turtle doves feed primarily on seeds and fruit. Foraging is mostly on the ground.
REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:
All pigeons in general follow similar courtship patterns. The males coo loudly, displaying before the females. At a more advanced stage of courtship the movements seem more like a bowing to the female. These displays sometimes go on for days, followed by nest building.
Nests are placed in shrubs and trees, relatively low. Doves prefer areas with tall hedges and thickets to woodlands. The male chooses the nesting site and gathers twigs, roots and other materials, which are set in place by the female.
These birds are monogamous and tend to mate for life. There are usually two eggs in each clutch, elliptical in shape and white, with a faint bluish tinge. Male and female share incubating duties for about 2 weeks after which the chicks are hatched nearly naked. These birds are altricial. The young can fly when they are three weeks old.
