Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis)

10 inches long

A small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East east to the Indian Subcontinent. This small long-tailed dove is found in dry scrub and semi-desert habitats where pairs can often be seen feeding on the ground. A rufous and black chequered necklace gives it a distinctive pattern and is also easily distinguished from other doves by its call.

The species is usually seen in pairs or small parties and only rarely in larger groups. It spends much os its time walking about on the ground.

Laughing doves eat fallen seeds, mainly of grasses, other vegetable matter and small ground insects such as termites and beetles.

The nest is a very flimsy platform of twigs built in a bush about 9 to 18 feet above the ground and sometimes in crevices or under the eaves of houses. Both parents build the nest with males bringing the twigs which are then placed by the female. Two eggs are laid within an interval of a day between them and both parents take part in building the nest, incubating and feeding the young.

Photographed in Giants Castle Game Reserve, Drakensberg, South Africa.