Streptopelia senegalensis (Laughing
Dove)
Rooiborsduifie [Afrikaans]; Icelekwane, Uvelemaxhoseni
[Xhosa]; uKhonzane [Zulu]; Hamanku/Katere [Kwangali]; Leebana-khoroana (also
applied to Red-eyed dove and Cape turtle-dove), Mphubetsoana [South Sotho];
Njiva (also applied to Cape turtle dove) [Shona]; Lituba (also applied to
Laughing dove) [Swazi]; Gugurhwana [Tsonga]; Lephôi, Tsôkwane [Tswana];
Palmtortel [Dutch]; Tourterelle maillée [French]; Senegaltaube, Palmtaube
[German]; Rola do Senegal [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Columbiformes > Family:
Columbidae > Streptopelia
The Laughing dove is abundant in southern Africa, as it is
found everywhere except coastal Mozambique. It has benefited greatly from
habitat disturbance by humans, and is found in all types of woodlands, as well as
suburban parks and gardens. It mainly eats seeds, with fruits, bulbs and nectar
making up the rest of its diet. The female normally makes its own nest, while
the male collects material. It lays 1-6, usually 2 eggs, which are incubated by
both sexes, for 12-14 days, after which the chicks hatch. They leave the nest at
12-13 days old, before they have even learnt to fly. At 3-4 days after leaving
the nest, they fledge, after which they become fully independent.
Distribution and habitat
Extremely common, its found
almost everywhere in southern Africa except coastal Mozambique. Its population
has benefited hugely from humans, and lives in any type of woodland, as well as
farmland, suburban parks, Acacia plantations and gardens.
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Distribution of Laughing dove in southern Africa,
based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas
Project (©
Animal Demography unit, University of
Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range
from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common).
See here for the latest distribution
from the SABAP2. |
Predators
The eggs are eaten by the following animals:
- Mammals
- Sciurus carolensis (Grey squirrel)
- Reptiles
- Dasyoeltis scabra (Common egg-eater)
- Birds
The chicks have been recorded as prey of the
following animals:
- Mammals
- Cynictis penicillata (Yellow mongoose)
- Birds
Food
Forages on the ground, where it eats
mainly seeds, as well as small fruits, bulbs and insects. The following food
items have been recorded in its diet.
- Seeds:
- Grasses
- Eleusine
- Panicum
- Poa
- Setaria
- Urochloa
- Sedges
- Trees and shrubs
- Atriplex
- Amaranthus
- Chenopodium
- Cleome
- Commelina
- Croton
- Cucumis
- Hibiscus
- Malva
- Osteospermum
- Oxalis
- Physalis
- Rhus
- Solanum
- Sphalmanthus
- Talinum
- Tetragonia
- Ulmus (alien elm)
- Acacia cyclops (Rooikrans)
- Acacia saligna (Port Jackson Willow)
- Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Red river gum) seeds crushed by passing
traffic.
- Commercial crops
- Sorghum
- Maize
- Oats
- Sunflowers
- Wheat
- Ficus natalensis (Coastal strangler fig) seeds, from fruit
crushed on roads by passing traffic.
- Acorns from Quercus robur (Common oak)
- Fruits
- Atriplex semibaccata (Creeping saltbush)
- Ficus sycomore (Sycomore fig)
- Rhus (Currants)
- Salvadora persica (Mustard-tree)
- Flueggea virosa (Wart-stem whiteberry-bush)
- Invertebrates
-
Termites
- Ants
- Musca domestica (House fly) larvae and pupa
- Snails
- Nectar of Aloe marlothii (Mountain Aloe)
- Bulbs of sedges
Breeding
- It normally makes its own nest in about 2 days, with the
male collecting material while the female builds. The nest is a frail
collection of twigs and leaves, 8-14 cm wide, lined with fine material such
as rootlets. The nest is usually situated in a fork in a tree, which is
often an alien. It also uses nest of other birds, such as
Streptopelia
capicola (Cape Turtle Dove),
Turdus libonyanus (Kurrichane
thrush), Turdus olivaceus
(Olive thrush) and
Passer melanurus
(Cape Sparrow)
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Laughing dove at its nest in hose coil, Modimolle,
South Africa. [photo Warwick Tarboton ©] |
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- Egg-laying season is year-round, peaking from August-December.
- It lays 1-6 eggs, usually 2, in successive mornings.
- Incubation is done by both sexes, for 12-14 days. The parents change
shifts twice daily, the female incubating in through the night, and the male
handling the middle of the day.
- The chicks are fed frequently for the first week of their lives, at 1-4
feeds an hour, after which they are fed 0-2 times an hour. For the first 3
days, they are fed only crop milk, after which they are fed a mixture of
small and large seeds.
- The nestlings remain in the nest for 12-13 days. Three to four days before
they have learnt to fly, they leave the nest for the surrounding bush.
Leaving the nest before being able to fly is why people mistakenly "rescue"
chicks that seem to have "fallen out of the nest". If a chick is in a
vulnerable position, (e.g. a cat eyeing it), it is best to remove the danger
or to position it in a safer place, but not to take it away from its
parents.
Threats
Not threatened, in fact extremely common, as it has
benefited greatly from habitat disturbance and changes in land use.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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