Emerald Dove

STATE BIRD OF TAMIL NADU

Emerald Dove
Chalcophaps Indica
Green-winged Pigeon, Bronze-winged Dove

Main features: Medium (25cm), metallic green mantle, wings; head, underparts rich pink.

Male: Forehead, eyebrow, shoulder white; crown and nape greyish; bill red; feet crimson.

Female: Same as male but duller; forehead, eyebrow grey; crown, nape brown; white shoulder patch absent or indistinct.

Call: Described as a low cu-oo or tik-oo, repeated monotonously; soft deep tu-hoop.

In flight: Green wings and mantle contrasts strongly with reddish underparts; two distinct black and white bars on lower back.

World distribution: India across to China and the Philippines, Southeast Asia to eastern Australia.

Classification: Family Columbidae. World 310 species.

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The beautiful Emerald Dove is the official State Bird of Tamil Nadu. It is quite common but as its very shy and secretive, is rarely seen.

Emerald Doves feed on fallen fruit and seeds (including grass seeds, figs and bamboo). They also eat tidbits like termites. Unlike some fruit-eating birds, however, Emerald Doves destroy the seeds that they eat and don't appear to play a major role in plant dispersal.

This bird usually forages on the ground, mostly under tree cover. Sometimes, they cautiously venture out onto open grassland to forage, but will scuttle back into the undergrowth at the slightest hint of danger. They fly low and quickly, zipping in and out among trees and undergrowth. They also visit mineral seeps in the forest.

Unlike other doves, Emerald Doves forage alone, or in pairs. When several are drawn to a food-rich areas, each maintains a small feeding territory.

Pigeons and doves do not have well-developed oil glands, which in other birds are used to waterproof their feathers. Instead, pigeons and doves have special plumes scattered throughout their body which disintegrate to produce a powder which cleans and lubricates the feathers.

Breeding: Emerald Doves appear to have a limited breeding season from April to September. Like other pigeons, the nest is a flimsy platform, often simply leaf litter that gathers naturally in a palm frond, stabilised by a few twigs. A nest may comprise a large leaf lying on a tangle of creepers. They only nest in the forest or closed-canopy woodland, 1-5m above the ground. Males perform a bobbing dance during courtship.

1-2 white eggs are laid, but usually only 1 chick survives. Only the female incubates. The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks and the young fledges in 12-13 days.

Migration: Although Emerald Doves may travel long distances to forage for food and are somewhat nomadic (following fruiting seasons), they are not migratory. They are found in lowland and montane forests, secondary growths, mangroves; also in cultivated lands.

Status and threats: Although Emerald Doves have adapted to feed in parks and agricultural land, they still require natural wooded areas to nest in. Because of their beautiful colouration and soothing call, Emerald Doves are often trapped and sold as cage birds.

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Pigeon's Milk
The most fascinating feature of pigeons and doves is their ability to produce crop milk. During breeding season, special glands in the crops of both males and females enlarge and secrete a thick milky substance.

The chicks drink this milk by poking their bills into the parent's throat. Thus, pigeons and doves can feed their young without having to incessantly hunt or forage for food. Instead of laying many eggs, they lay one or at most two eggs.