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The Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata) in the Wild and Captivity – Care Part 2

Posted by: Frank Indiviglio in Bird Species Profiles September 3, 2008 Comments Off on The Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata) in the Wild and Captivity – Care Part 2 4874 Views

Click here to read the first part of The Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata) In the Wild and Captivity.

Social Groups and Compatible Species
Diamond DovesDiamond Doves get along well with most finch species, including canaries, but only when housed in large outdoor aviaries or rooms within homes. They are intolerant of other dove species. Although gregarious in the wild, captives do best when kept in pairs as opposed to groups.

Captive Longevity
Average longevity is 12-14 years, with some birds reaching their late teens. The longevity record is in the neighborhood of 21 years.

Handling
Diamond Doves take well to gentle handling, and birds kept singly often bond strongly to their owners…in males this can lead to incessant “courting attempts”. Training should take place in a small room. The dove should be encouraged to perch on one’s finger via gentle pressure against the breast – never grab and place a bird on your hand.

These birds are quite sociable by nature – the interactions among wild flocks approach the levels exhibited by parrots. A single bird will do fine if allowed frequent contact (out of the cage) with its owner. Females make better single pets, as males kept alone tend to be noisy. If you are away for most of the day, then a pair of doves should be kept – birds left alone all day rarely fare well.

Breeding
Diamond Doves breed readily in captivity, and a pair cannot fail to delight you with their mutual preening and other interactions. They communicate with a wide variety of “cooing” sounds, and separated pairs emit a unique distress call until re-united.

Diamond Doves, especially captive-produced color strains, can be difficult to sex by appearance. Courting behavior is often more reliable. In general, naturally-colored males tend towards silver-gray in coloration, while females appear more brown-gray. The orange-red eye ring of the adult male measures 2-3 mm in width, while that of the females is 1 mm….surprisingly, this slight size difference is noticeable among birds perched closely together.

Diamond Doves lay 2 eggs, usually 1 day apart. Males incubate by day and females by night, but sometimes both share the nest. The eggs hatch in 13-15 days, and the nestlings fledge at day 12-15. Be sure to leave the young with their parents for at least 2 weeks after fledging, as they are fed “pigeon milk” during this period and only gradually learn to take seeds.

Basket nests are readily accepted. Doves do not build much of a nest, but be sure to provide a variety of straw and dried grass – some can be very picky as to nest material size and thickness!

 

You can read about some Diamond Dove relatives that are also kept as pets at:
http://www.diamonddove.info/bird10%20Geopelia.htm

Image referenced from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Golabek_diamentowy.jpg. Author M. Betley, under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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I believe that I was born with an intense interest in animals, as neither I nor any of my family can recall a time when I was not fascinated by creatures large and small. One might imagine this to be an unfortunate set of circumstances for a person born and raised in the Bronx, but, in actuality, quite the opposite was true. Most importantly, my family encouraged both my interest and the extensive menagerie that sprung from it. My mother and grandmother somehow found ways to cope with the skunks, flying squirrels, octopus, caimans and countless other odd creatures that routinely arrived un-announced at our front door. Assisting in hand-feeding hatchling praying mantises and in eradicating hoards of mosquitoes (I once thought I had discovered “fresh-water brine shrimp” and stocked my tanks with thousands of mosquito larvae!) became second nature to them. My mother went on to become a serious naturalist, and has helped thousands learn about wildlife in her 16 years as a volunteer at the Bronx Zoo. My grandfather actively conspired in my zoo-buildings efforts, regularly appearing with chipmunks, boa constrictors, turtles rescued from the Fulton Fish Market and, especially, unusual marine creatures. It was his passion for seahorses that led me to write a book about them years later. Thank you very much, for a complete biography of my experience click here.
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