ZEBRA DOVES - 11. The return of the doves

I did not expect the doves to return. But they did.

Last evening at 7.10 pm there was a faint call of a dove. Suddenly a bird landed on a branch of my Artocarpus tree. Two others followed. Surprise of surprise, they were the two fledglings and a parent bird.

There was an initial scrambling of who was to perch where. Obviously the choice location was to be in the centre, squeezed between a parent and a fledgling. The younger of the two finally got the choice spot.

The fledglings had yet to fully develop the blue orbital rings, that of the older more pronounced that the younger. The pale pink breast was clearly seen in the fledglings. In the older, the pinkish area went right up to the neck, not so in the younger.

They were on the same spot throughout the night. This morning at 7.20 am they suddenly became active, pecking the parent bird around the neck, possibly to be fed. But this was not to be. There was a distant call of the other parent (male?) and suddenly the bird flew off to a nearby perch. A few minutes later both fledglings followed.

The older of the fledgling is now 19 days old. How long more will they be dependent on the parents?

ZEBRA DOVES - 10. Twelve days old fledgling

On the 23rd August at 8.30 am there was a cooing around the old nesting tree. Suddenly a bird flew to a tree nearer to me. It was one of the two fledglings, then 12 days old. One of the parents was nearby. Five minutes later both flew off. Was the fledgling cooing or was it the parent bird? Was this the younger fledgling? Had the older become independent? I have since not heard nor seen the doves around. It looks like goodbye...

ZEBRA DOVES - 9. The family is still around

Well, I was mistaken. The saga is not over yet. The family of doves is still around. I have heard the cooing of the parent birds on and off but did not see them until last evening at around 7 pm. The entire family of both parents and two fledglings was around the scaffolding of my neighbour's house that is currently being renovated. Both parent birds are still caring for their offspring. The fledglings were still not able to fend for themselves, flapping their wings excitedly and scurrying around the parents to be fed. The orbital rings have still to be developed in the fledglings, although the pinkish touch in the central breast area is just beginning to be apparent. I wonder how many more days will they have to be dependent on their parents? Before they fly free!

ZEBRA DOVES - 8. The final saga

The morning after the chicks fledged, they were still on the same branch of the mempat (Cratoxylum formosum) tree. Later that morning the parent bird and one fledgling flew to the roof of my neighbour's house, leaving the other behind along the common railing. Despite parental persuasion, this fledgling remained there, not even moving when I was close by. I suppose, as with all newly fledged birds, it had yet to sense any danger from humans. After four days they were still nearby and being fed by the parent bird. Then they flew further afield, probably not to be seen again. Will they return and nest nearby? I will have to wait and see...

ZEBRA DOVES - 7. The chicks have fledged

At around 2.30 pm today, both chicks took their maiden flight and landed on a branch of a nearby tree. The parent dove had not flown into the nest to feed them since 7.30 am. This no doubt provided the incentive for the chicks to leave the nest.

Things have developed beyond expectation. Despite the heavy human traffic, no one noticed the nest or its occupants. Workers moved in and out of their worksites within metres of the nesting tree. Drivers parked their vehicles by the tree. And pedestrians walked past it day and night. The camouflage must have been very effective. And there were the occasional duetting as one bird called while its mate replied.

The incubation took 13 days while the chicks took 15 days to fledge. The nest and birds were right under the noses of all those noisy people who constantly moved around the tree for all of 28 days. And all this time they remained unnoticed and unmolested.

Suddenly I am left with very much less to do. No more sneaking out to take a peek. No more lugging the camera mounted on a tripod. No more worrying that the location could soon be discovered.

In all I spent at least 50 hours, if not more, keeping watch on these birds. It is fortunate that they decided to build their nest just outside my house. Otherwise it would take more effort and time. Now I understand why a bird watcher told me that it was too much work to “behaviour watch” than “bird watch.”

Late this evening I managed to locate the parent and its two fledglings huddled together on a branch of a nearby tree. I will try to monitor the fledglings in the days ahead...

ZEBRA DOVES - 6. What happens to the third chick?

The chicks are now 12 days old. The parent birds are spending less and less time in the nest, flying in only to feed them. Both chicks demand to be fed at the same time. This results in both the chicks’ beaks being thrust into the parent’s wide-open beak as the latter transfer its crop milk to the former. I have not been able to see the third chick for some days now. I can only see two large chicks in the nest. Has the third chick been starved to death, not being able to compete for food with its two bigger siblings? And has its body been disposed of?

ZEBRA DOVES - 5. The chicks are about to fledge

So far so good! The nest and the birds have not been molested. The chicks are now 10 days old and will be fledging soon. There are three of them and the oldest has started exercising its wings. The parent birds regularly feed and preen the chicks.

The nest looks a bit crowded and the chicks have been left to themselves for longer periods. The parent birds fly in separately at irregularly intervals to feed them.

If the day shift bird is indeed a male, as in the case of Pink-necked Pigeons, then it would seem that the male is spending less time looking after the chicks than the female. The female bird, the one taking on the night shift and spending all her time in the nest throughout the night, now leaves a few hours earlier. Sounds familiar?

ZEBRA DOVES - 4. Perfect camouflage

The nest of the Zebra Doves is a simple platform of twigs lodged between the branches of a Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) tree. This tree a smallish and the nest is slightly above eye level. The crown is sparse, thus there is no problem in photographing the activities inside the nest.

The house immediately behind the tree and a property on the opposite side of the road are currently being renovated. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic is heavy along this road. Workers constantly move around the tree, but so far have yet to notice the nest. This has gone on for the last 19 days. The dove and the nest are certainly well camouflaged.

The small size of the bird makes it inconspicuous, whether when perched on a branch, sitting in the nest or when flying in and out of the nest. When I walked past it within touching distance, the bird was so confident that I would not notice it that it just sat still. Of course there was no eye contact.

Things are now different. Three workers in the house behind the tree noticed the nest and frightened the bird away. But a few hours later the bird was back in its nest.

There are actually three chicks, detected only yesterday from digital images. They are now 7 days old. Will they be left unmolested? To be able to fledge within a few days' time? And fly off to lead independent lives?

I am keeping my fingers crossed…

ZEBRA DOVES - 3. More time to rest

I was right. As the chick grew bigger (now 5 days old), the parent doves spent less time in the nest. The night dove (on duty since last evening) fed the chicks before leaving the nest but the day dove flew in about two hours later. At the evening shift change, the day dove (on duty since morning) left about two hours earlier while the night dove flew in at its usual time. This meant that the day dove took on about four hours less duty while the night dove did its normal hours. With Pink-necked Pigeons the male takes on the day shift while the female the night shift. Does this mean that the male dove spent less time with the chicks than the female? As it is not possible to distinguish the sexes of these doves from their features, this can only be a conjecture.

I suspect the incoming dove spent time around the tree while the outgoing bird flew off to forage for food. To keep an eye on the chicks, no doubt. This morning I found the day dove resting along my driveway before it flew in for its day duty.

More to come...

ZEBRA DOVES - 2. The saga continues

I was mistaken. Two eggs hatched on the morning of the 29th July, 17 days after I noticed the dove nesting in the Golden Penda tree. When I examined my images taken the next day, two chicks were clearly seen in the nest. Whether the two eggs were hatched at the same time or one after the other within the same day, I am not able to say.

On the morning of the 30th, I heard the dove calling from its nest. This was unusual as normally the one in the nest or the one outside called when about to change shift. It must have been a distress call. There was a pair of Javan Myna around the nest. The dove was trying hard to chase them off. Only when the mynas left the tree did the dove return to its nest.

At about 3pm the next day I noticed the dove perching on a branch outside its nest. This was unusual. It would only leave the nest when disturbed or when changing shift. An hour later the dove was not to be seen. Did it fly off due to disturbance, as there were people around the tree? Exactly at 4.30pm the night shift dove flew in and sat on the nest.

I again noticed the dove was not in the nest at 3.15pm today, 1st August. The chicks are now 4 days old and rather big. It is possible that they are now big enough to be left alone for a few hours. Exactly at 5pm the night duty dove arrived and started feeding the chicks.

Stay tuned!