It can build a nest with just a few branches. Is there any bird that is better at making things messy than this one?

There is a magical forum in Baidu Tieba - Bird Forum, which is a gathering place for bird lovers. They usually exchange bird watching experiences. However, every year when spring and summer turn, many ridiculous discussion posts always appear on the homepage of Bird Forum:

Is this a pigeon? Why is it building a nest on the outdoor unit of my air conditioner... A bird came to the windowsill, and the nest it built is really outrageous! What kind of bird is this? It lays eggs everywhere in the flower pot...

Without opening the post, I can make a pretty good guess that the only bird that could do such a stupid thing is this: the spotted dove !

Image source: Wikipedia

This bird, which does not look very smart at first glance, is loved by many bird-watching enthusiasts because of its silly nature. Since it usually makes "cooing" sounds, it is nicknamed "Silly Coo Coo" !

Part 1

Silly and silly, very cute

The silly look of the spotted dove comes from its slightly funny appearance, especially its small eyes . The spotted dove's eyes don't look big against its round body, and the iris is light in color, mostly orange or orange-yellow, and some are pink, which results in a very obvious gap between the pupil and the eyeball. This kind of facial appearance is called "four white eyes" and gives people a silly look.

Image source: Macaulay Library

Not only do they look silly, but the spotted dove also has a lot of confusing bird behaviors .

It was flying well, but suddenly it turned and hit the glass windows and billboards. Some stupid ones even hit pedestrians directly, leaving the netizens who were hit questioning their lives.

Image source: Baidu Tieba

The spotted dove has inherited the fine tradition of the columbidae family of "not being afraid of people" . When small birds such as sparrows in the city are foraging, they will immediately flap their wings and run away when they see someone approaching, while the spotted dove will often be like a silly roe deer, first sticking its neck out to see what the person is up to, and then burying its head and continuing to eat if the person does not move much. In a domestic study, the spotted dove showed a tolerance to human interference that was comparable to that of the stubborn corvids such as the magpie , which is really admirable.

The spotted doves have done more stupid things than this. They are also very good at building nests . As the best "master of messing up" among birds, the nests built by spotted doves are so good that it's a bit of a compliment to say they are half-finished buildings. Basically, as long as you can see that it's in the shape of a nest, it's considered a luxury house.

Because most of the time, the nest of the spotted dove looks like this...

Image source: Weibo @华美极乐鸟

And such...

Image source: Weibo @华美极乐鸟

Some pigeons will even lay eggs in people's flower pots... These nests are not only sheltered from the wind and rain, but they are also uncomfortable just by sitting on the branches. However, this kind of stupid bird that everyone laughs at as "surviving by luck" is a typical example of birds adapting to human society and is one of the best birds to reproduce and thrive in cities. So don't underestimate the spotted doves. There may be some great wisdom hidden in their small eyes~

Part 2

Wild pigeon with pearl collar

Before we delve into the "great wisdom" of the spotted dove, we still have to have a deeper understanding of this bird. As a very common urban bird in southern China, the spotted dove is often called a "wild pigeon" by everyone. This is no wonder, the silly coogu is indeed related to the domestic pigeon. The two belong to the order Columbiformes and the family Columbidae. They have many similarities from body shape to living habits. But the word "wild" also means that the spotted dove is still different.

The most obvious difference of the spotted dove can be seen from its name - "pearl neck". This grayish bird is generally about 30 cm long and is similar in size to a pigeon. It is indeed a bit hard to tell from a distance. But as long as you get a little closer, you can find that this little guy is quite recognizable. The sides of its neck are covered with white spots, as if it is wearing a scarf made of pearls. The bird lives up to its name .

It is worth mentioning that this "pearl neckline" is only found in adult pigeons and is one of the signs that Silly Pigeon is growing from immaturity to maturity.

Image source: Macaulay Library

Another major difference of the spotted dove is its habit of moving on the ground. Unlike the domestic pigeons that were used to deliver messages in ancient times, the spotted dove has a very weak flying ability . Relevant research shows that the average flying height of the spotted dove is only 5.8 meters, and the highest is no more than 12.2 meters. Moreover, the flying time is not long, and it is a complete "ground chicken".

This also explains why the spotted doves like to walk around the lawns in the park to find food, and they don't fly away immediately when they see people coming. They are just really not good at flying...

A spotted dove foraging on the ground

Image source: Macaulay Library

In addition to domestic pigeons, other birds that look similar to spotted doves include fire doves and mountain doves, both of which are very common urban birds in China. These two guys look more similar and are often confused.

The mountain dove and the spotted dove are similar in size, the difference being the very obvious scaly orange patterns on their wings , so they are also called "tiger doves"; the fire dove is obviously smaller, and its most notable feature is the half-circle black collar on the back of its neck .

A spotted dove is eating something that looks like dog food

Image source: Macaulay Library

What is even more valuable is that it is relatively easy for adult spotted doves to feed their young . Inheriting the typical habit of Columbiformes of feeding their chicks with "pigeon milk", the crop glands of the parents of spotted doves will secrete a protein-rich substance to feed the chicks in the first few days after they are hatched. When the little doves grow up a little, the parents will directly break down the food into semi-digested plant chyme and feed it to them. Compared with birds that need to feed their chicks with insects, spotted doves are much easier to feed their chicks, and they can successfully raise them even when the insects are dormant.

In addition to being a big eater, Silly Gugu is also a good breeder.

The spotted dove is in estrus almost all year round . From the statistical chart below, it is not difficult to see that April to August each year is the peak breeding season for the spotted dove, which explains why there are always a lot of discussion posts about the nesting of spotted doves in the forum every time spring and summer turn around. Even in the autumn and winter seasons in some areas, you can often hear the excited courtship calls of male doves.

The annual breeding cycle of the spotted dove

Image source: Macaulay Library

Interestingly, when the male turtledove is courting a mate, it will nod and bow next to the female, and make flattering sounds from its mouth, which is extremely magical...

The most "wise" operation is for the silly bird to build its nest on people's windowsills, flower pots and other places . On the one hand, although the bird's nest is a bit unrefined, it makes full use of the surrounding favorable terrain to shelter from wind and rain, thus shortening the nesting period and allowing eggs to be laid as soon as possible, greatly improving the breeding efficiency; in addition, the spotted dove can breed in a human environment, with the help of human protection, effectively avoiding the invasion of natural enemies such as the kestrel, and greatly improving the survival rate of the young birds. As the saying goes, "the timid will die of starvation, and the bold will die of gluttony."

And most of the netizens whose balconies are occupied by spotted doves are still very indulgent to this fellow and will feed him food from time to time. They are very loving!

Nowadays, the spotted dove, which was once only common in the southern region, has begun to appear in northeastern China such as Changchun, Jilin in recent years. Its ability to adapt to the urban environment is admirable. Do you still think that such a powerful cuckoo is stupid?

Part 4

Leave some kindness to the silly people

As the fields recede and high-rise buildings rise from the ground, our cities are no longer the paradise where birds can fly freely, but the turtle doves have never left us, which is really a kind of beauty in this steel and concrete jungle. So please treat these lovely creatures well, do not disturb their reproduction and growth, and provide them with a shelter from the wind and rain if you can. Maybe one day, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that there is a pair of turtle doves neighbors on the balcony, staring with round eyes, curiously looking at the house. Of course, there are also their "rotten" nests.

References:

[1] Higgins, PJ, and SJJF Davies (editors). (1996). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic birds. Volume 3. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

[2] Bao Mingxia, Yang Sen, Yang Yang, Zhou Sheng, Li Chunlin. Study on the tolerance distance of common urban birds to human disturbance. Journal of Biology. 2019, 36(01)

[3] Baker, ECS (1928). The Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 5. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 241–245.

[4] Walker, RL (1978). Final report, Keehi Lagoon and mitigation areas bird survey. Honolulu, HI: Ralph M. Parsons Co.

[5] https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/spodov/cur/foodhabits.

[6] Zhong Shengwei, Li Jing, Song Wei, Liu Jia, Xie Ruoyi, Yu Pengcheng, Zhou Zuohong, Zhang Hui. Microstructure and histochemistry of the glandular stomach of Turtle Dove. Journal of Anhui Agricultural University. 2018, 45(02)

[7] Schwartz, CW and ER Schwartz. (1949). A reconnaissance of the game birds of Hawaii. Territory of Hawaii: Board of Commissioners of Agric. and Forestry.

[8] China Bird Classification and Distribution List (3rd edition) (Zheng Guangmei 2017)

[9] “Why the spotted dove is so successful”, Rediscovering Nature, 2022-02-27

[10] Goodwin, D. (1983). Pigeon and Doves of the World. 3rd edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA.

Source: Science Institute