THE laughing dove is a very common resident throughout Southern Africa, most of Africa, Arabia and central Asia.
These doves like open woodland, savanna, Kalahari sandveld with trees, gardens and parks.
Their food preference is seeds, fallen grain, small snails, insects and their larvae and termite alates. They come readily to feeding stations.
They are found solitary or in pairs, also in flocks at water or feeding places. Foraging on the ground in a hunched posture, they walk with small steps while nodding their heads. They become tame in towns and are the first birds to appear in new suburbs as trees grow.
The name laughing dove comes from a bubbling call made, which always has a laughing quality.
A six to eight note ‘koo koo kuRUkutu – koo’ sounds like ‘there goes Van der Merwe, there goes Van der Merwe’.
Breeding takes place during all months, with peak season being March to September during the dry months. The nest is a frail platform of twigs and roots in the fork of a bush or tree. The same nest is used up to eight times. Two white eggs are laid and incubation is from 12 to 17 days and nestlings remain for 11 to 14 days.
The Zulu name is ukhonzane and in Afrikaans, die rooiborsduifie or lemoenduifie.
