Nest building by Spotted Dove

YC Wee
on 2nd August 2010

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS documented a pair of Spotted Doves (Streptopelia chinensis tigrina) building their nest near his home in Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia on 1st May 2010.

The nest was built 4-5 metres up in a Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) tree, well hidden inside the dense crown.

One of the adults would get the material from the ground below the tree. Instead of flying directly to the nesting site, it flew to a nearby electrical cable to check on the presence of potential predators (below left) before flying to the nest site (above). It passed on the material to its mate hidden among the foliage and immediately flew out of the site (below right), leaving its mate to continue with nest construction.

With most doves and pigeons, the male sources out the material while the female builds the nest. It is thus assumed that this is the case here as the sexes are not distinguishable from the plumage.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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  1. Pingback: Bird Ecology Study Group Nesting behaviour of the Spotted Dove

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