Laughing Dove Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| Laughing Dove | ||||||||||||||
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| Streptopelia senegalensis Linnaeus, 1766 |
It is a common and widespread species in scrub, dry farmland and habitation over a good deal of its range, often becoming very tame.
This species builds a stick nest in a tree and lays two white eggs. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general.
Laughing Dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon, 25cm in length. Its back, wings and tail are reddish-brown with blue-grey in the wings. In flight, the underwings are rich chestnut.
The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to whitish on the lower belly. There is black spotting on the throat. The legs are red. The chuckling call is a low oo-took-took-oo-roo, with the emphasis on the took-took. Sexes are similar, but immatures are more rufous than adults, and have reduced throat spotting.
Laughing Doves eat grass seeds, grains, other vegetation and small insects. They are fairly terrestrial, foraging on the ground in grasslands and cultivation.
Like some other doves in this genus, they are not particularly gregarious, and are usually alone, or in pairs.
