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!