| Antigua
Birds: |
ZENAIDA
DOVE
Family: Columbidae, Pigeons
Zenaida aurita. (Named after a
naturalist's wife, Zenaide Charlotte
Bonaparte in 1838).
This bird is very much like the northern
Mourning Dove. It is one of the most
ubiquitous birds to be seen in Antigua. |
|
Photo by Peter Duce |
There
is no other common dove like it in the island.
The local name is 'Turtle Dove'. The call is very
similar to the Mourning Dove with its soft
'oo-ah! Coo-coo-coooo'. The male brings twigs to
the female at the nesting site. Here she builds a
rough platform where two pure white eggs are
laid. After about two weeks the young are hatched
and after another two weeks the juveniles fly
from the nest. They may come back to roost, but
soon they are entirely on their own in the great
big world, the 108 square miles of Antigua.
Click here for more
Antigua birds. |
|
|
