Laughing turtle dove, Palm dove, Senegal dove, Little brown dove (in Asia)
The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a pigeon widespread in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It was introduced to Perth in 1889 and has become established around Western Australia. Birds that land on ships may be introduced to new regions.
The Laughing dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon. It is pinkish brown on the underside with a lilac-tinged head and neck. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to buff on the lower abdomen. A chequered rufous and grey patch is found on the sides of the neck of adults and is made up of split feathers. The upper parts are brownish with a bluish-grey band along the wing. The back is uniform and dull brown in the South Asian population. The African populations have a bluish-grey rump and upper tail coverts but differ in the shades of the neck and wing feathers while S. s. aegyptiaca subspecies is larger and the head and nape are vinous and upper wing coverts are rufous. The tail is graduated and the outer feathers are tipped in white. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. Young birds lack the chequered neck markings. The legs are red. The populations vary slightly in plumage with those from more arid zones being paler.
Laughing doves are found in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. It is also found in Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the UAE, and Turkey. They are mostly sedentary but some populations may make movements. Laughing doves inhabit dry scrub, wooded savannas, grasslands, dry farmlands, and areas of human habitation.
Laughing doves are diurnal birds spending most of their time foraging on the ground. They are usually seen in pairs or small parties and only rarely in larger groups. Larger groups are formed especially when drinking at waterholes in arid regions. Small numbers assemble on trees near waterholes before flying to the water's edge where they are able to suck up water like other members of the pigeon family. Their flight is quick and direct with regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings characteristic of pigeons in general. The common call of these birds is a low rolling ‘croo-doo-doo-doo-doo’ with a rising and falling amplitude.
Laughing doves are mainly herbivores (granivores). Their diet typically includes fallen seeds, mainly of grasses, and other vegetable matter and they sometimes pick small ground insects.
Laughing doves are monogamous and form pairs for life. They have a spread-out breeding season in Africa. Almost year-round in Malawi and Turkey; and mainly May to November in Zimbabwe, February to June in Egypt and Tunisia. In Australia, the main breeding season is September to November. The male in the courtship display follows the female with head bobbing displays while cooing. The male pecks its folded wings in "displacement-preening" to attract the female. A female accepts by crouching and begging for food. Pairs may preen each other. Males may also launch into the air with wing clapping above their backs and then glide down in a gentle arc when displaying. Laughing doves are solitary nesters. Their nest is a very flimsy platform of twigs built in a low bush and sometimes in crevices or under the eaves of houses. Both parents build the nest with the 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. Males spend more time incubating the nest during the day. The eggs are incubated for about 13 to 15 days. When nesting parents may feign injury to distract and draw predators away from the nest. Multiple broods may be raised by the same pair in the same nest. Initially, the altricial hatchlings are fed with regurgitated crop milk, a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds. The young fledge and leave the nest after about 14 to 16 days.
There are no major threats to this species at present.
According to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Laughing dove is around 2,400,000-8,200,000 mature individuals. The European population consists of 61,500-204,000 pairs, which equates to 123,000-408,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
