Zebra Dove using bulbul’s nest

“We recently added a new tree into our garden; an Australian species, possibly a Lemon Scented Tea Tree (Leptospermum petersonii). We noticed an old, empty Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier analis) nest in the upper part of the tree at a height of ~ 2.4 meters. We were surprised when soon after a pair of Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata) started using it as a nest (above).

“There was no attempt to add any material or to build their usual flimsy platform of sticks. The image above shows an overview of the nest.

“From the rear view, the bird is in a bit of an awkward posture with the tail up in the air while in the nest, possibly due to the foliage (above).

“There are no records of Zebra Dove using others bird’s nests but this is not uncommon with many species. The Zebra Dove will use woven baskets for nests and the Yellow-vented Bulbul nest is quite similar.

“They were doing well in the extreme dry season we were experiencing and had started to feed chicks. Unfortunately two torrential downpours seem to have been hard to manage. The birds are largely exposed from the top. After the second downpour the nest was abandoned. I waited a few days and then checked. There were sadly two desiccated dead chicks in the nest.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
3rd May 2016

Location: Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Urban environment