Spotted Dove nesting
Posted by BESG on 3 November 09, Tuesday
Contributed by Joseph Chai
Joseph Chai a.k.a. rooster posted his experience with a pair of Spotted Doves (Streptopelia chinensis) nesting outside his highrise apartment in September 2009. Through the courtesy of Wilson Wong, we got in contact with Joseph who gave us permission to post his images.
Because of the abundant greenery around the apartment building, there was an abundance of bird life. And the pair of Spotted Doves was comfortable enough to build their nest on one of the steel shelves placed outside (above left).
The nest is a simple collection of twigs and dried pliable stems of climbers and grasses, with a slight depression to hold the two white eggs so that they do not roll off the edge (above right). The eggs hatched and the two chicks grew rapidly, brooded by the protective parents (left). As with doves and pigeons, it can be assumed that the male brooded during the day and the female at night.
By October the chicks were about to fledge (above left). Unfortunately Joseph had to be overseas and by the time he returned later in the month they had fledge (above right). However, he saw the pair of adults recently adjusting the nest.
Will they return to lay more eggs? We have to wait and see.
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Categories: Feeding-vertebrates, Nesting, Pigeon-Dove
Comment by Avian Buddy
Made Tuesday, 12 of January , 2010 at 8:32 am
They will probably lay more eggs again. I had the Spotted Dove nest at my balcony around May 2009 till Nvember 2009, during which they laid eggs 5 times almost every 2 months.(incubation time is about 14 days and and then after the eggs(normally 2) hatched, the parents birds looked after the young bird for about a month till they are fully grown up and flied off. In the morning the mother and father change the duty.(quite precise timing around 9:30am +/- 5 mins at my place and they made alot of Coo coo sound before changing the duty.) I am not sure which is mother or father but the one who took morning duty normally take duty about only 4-5 hours after that the one who took the night duty came back again. After the young bird flied off, the parents dove repaired their nest(bring more some twings) about 3 days then laid egg again, most of the time what I noticed was the mother didn’t lay 2 eggs at the same time, it was always about 1 day apart.
I am not bird expert and no zoology back ground but I am nature lover and did volunteer work at the singapore zoo often. I just become aciidental bird watcher because of this 2 lovely spotted dove. I put my webcam near the nest and recorded many hours of video clips. I am creating my blog and I will post all these clips when my blog is ready.
I hope they will come back again this May 2010. I think Dec to April may be not the season to lay egg for the Spotted Dove. I didn’t hear any Coo-coo sound around my area for about 2 months now. I heard alot of Coo-coo sounds around my area during the time between may and november. So there must be others nest too around my place. I stay near the nature park in Singapore.
Comment by YC
Made Tuesday, 12 of January , 2010 at 1:16 pm
Hi Anian Buddy
Thanks for the informative note. Your observations are very valuable and should be shared, possibly also the videos, where much more detailed information can be obtained. If you do not have the time, maybe someone can help view the videos and obtain the relevant details? Hope you let us have the link once your blog is set up.
