Spotlight: Diamond Doves

Turtle doves, as they are referred to in the “12 Days of Christmas” song, are actually the diamond doves that are found in many of our aviaries. These little, gray beauties originate from Australia and contain white diamond spots on their wings offset with a black edge, and have a unique, bright orange ring around their eyes.  They are one of the smallest of the Australian doves; often weighing only 23 to 32 grams with a length spanning from 193 to 213 mm (White).  Often, diamond doves hang out on the ground where they like to get their exercise as they can be seen toddling around.

They are very affectionate birds with each other and prefer to have a mate or to live in a flock of birds. The mating ritual is quite fun to witness as the male will fan his tail feathers out and while touching the ground with his beak, will send out a coo directed toward the female dove.  This little ritual, repeated several times, apparently drives the female wild, and mating soon takes place.  After mating has occurred, the content male will let out a series of one-note coos, while the female happily sits by listening (White).

Diamond doves also communicate well with one another as they greet each other when a bird returns to the nest by a series of throaty, low coos. During the dark of night, these birds like to cuddle and kiss, using their beaks to perform a series of light pecks around the head and neck of their partner (White).  Sounds like my kind of bird!

It’s only natural that with all this wooing, eggs begin to emerge in the diamond dove nests.  The process of incubating the eggs involves both parents as the female will sit on the eggs in the morning, trading off with the male in the afternoon. When this happens, keep a close eye out for little babies set to appear about 13 days from the start of this period.

Diamond doves are not only beautiful to look at, they are also fun to watch.  If you are interested in adding these birds to your aviary please contact us:

email: bev@bevyofbirdhomes.com or call: 888-756-1693

Reference:

White, Helen. “Diamond Dove Home Page – Diamond Doves.” Diamond Dove Home Page – Diamond Doves. 10 July 2013. Web. 27 Dec. 2015.