Laughing Dove ( Streptopelia senegalensis, family: columbidae)

Laughing Dove Kruger ParkThe Laughing Dove (Latin name Streptopelia senegalensis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 355 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 281 also a picture of the Laughing Dove on page 273. The Laughing Dove belongs to the family of birds classified as columbidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Laughing Dove is also known by these other names: Palm Dove, Palm Turtle-Dove, Little Brown Dove, Senegal 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

laughing dove kruger national park birds The Laughing Dove is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Laughing Dove in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Laughing Dove : see above distribution map.

The Laughing Dove.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Laughing Dove is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Laughing Dove is about 25 cms and its weight is about 100 gms

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

  • Head is mauve, pink.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is mauve.
  • Legs are purple.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Laughing Dove feeds on the ground mainly

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Laughing Dove is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Streptopelia senegalensis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Laughing Dove is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Laughing Dove are: woodlands

You can expect to see Laughing Dove in flocks, or pairs or as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Icelekwane/Uvelemaxhoseni

Zulu ... uKhonzane

Afrikaans ...Rooiborsduifie

German ... Senegaltaube, Palmtaube

Portuguese ... Rola do Senegal

French ... Tourterelle maille

Dutch ... Palmtortel

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 355

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