Lemon Dove ( Aplopelia larvata, family: columbidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Cinnamon Dove

lemon dove Kruger National Park birds The Lemon Dove (Latin name Aplopelia larvata) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 360 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 280 also a picture of the Lemon Dove on page 273. The Lemon Dove belongs to the family of birds classified as columbidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Lemon Dove is also known by these other names: Rufous-necked Wood-Dove.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Lemon Dove was called the Cinnamon Dove

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Lemon Dove is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Lemon Dove in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Lemon Dove has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Lemon Dove is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Lemon Dove is about 30 cms and its weight is about 150 gms

The male and female Lemon Dove have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is grey, white.
  • Eye is red.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is bronze, pink.
  • Legs are purple.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Lemon Dove feeds in tree and shrub foliage mainly

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Lemon Dove is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Aplopelia larvata will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Lemon Dove is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 1 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Lemon Dove are: forests and heavily treed regions

You will not see Lemon Dove in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Indenge/Isagqukhwe

Zulu ... isAgqukwe

Afrikaans ...Kaneelduifie

German ... Zimttaube

Portuguese ... Rola-canela

French ... Pigeon masque blanc

Dutch ... Kaneeltortel

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 360

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za