Fun Common Emerald Dove Facts For Kids

Adekunle Olanrewaju Jason
Oct 20, 2022 By Adekunle Olanrewaju Jason
Originally Published on Aug 06, 2021
Edited by Jacob Fitzbright
Common emerald dove facts, it is the state bird of the Indian state-Tamil Nadu.

Are you looking for a calm feathery friend? Do you want to know about the birds that have Holy importance? If so, then you need to learn about doves, portrayed as the symbol of love, peace, and harmony.

These birds are inherently peaceful creatures and are generally tame and approachable, thus making them good pets. Among different species, the Common emerald dove is a unique dove and green-winged. So, let's dive into their exciting world.

The common emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica) is a plump little bird found throughout the Indian Subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They are also known by the names of the green dove, Asian emerald dove, green-winged dove, or gray-capped emerald dove. They are quite terrestrial and rarely found in trees except when roosting.

Male has bluish-grey crown and nape, metallic green mantle and wings with white shoulder-patch, eyes are dark brown, the bill bright red, and the legs and feet rufous. The female resembles a male but has less grey on the head.

Explore below for more exhilarating facts about the lovely common emerald dove. We have also composed articles on many other interesting birds of the world like dove facts and eastern kingbird facts.

Common Emerald Dove Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a common emerald dove?

The common emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica) is a pigeon, which is widespread and common throughout its range.

What class of animal does a common emerald dove belong to?

The emerald dove is one of the bird species in the Columbidae family of the Chalcophaps genus, part of the Aves class.

How many common emerald doves are there in the world?

The global population of the gray-capped emerald dove is not exactly computed. However, it is a widespread resident breeding dove in the pigeon family.

Where does a common emerald dove live?

The common emerald dove, also known by the name of the green dove and Asian emerald dove, is a stocky, medium-sized pigeon typically found throughout India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Southern China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei, southern Taiwan, Philippines, and eastern Australia.

What is a common emerald dove habitat?

These birds are common dove species with a wide range of habitats in tropical forests, wooded areas, rainforests, gallery forests, mangroves, and similar dense wet woodlands. Many species live in urban areas like parks or gardens, agricultural farms, and homes.

Who do common emerald doves live with?

The sociable emerald doves usually live alone, in pairs, or insmall groups while feeding or roosting.

How long does a common emerald dove live?

The common emerald dove, Chalcophaps indica, has an average life span of 10-15 years in captivity under proper care.

How do they reproduce?

The green-winged dove is a widespread resident, breeding from April to September. During courtship, while cooing loudly hoo-hoo-hoon; males perform a bobbing dance by lowering the head and back, raises wings and tail, creating a splendid show of his bright green plumage to the female.

A stick nest is built by the dove in a bush or tree ferns at a ground level of 3.3-16.4 ft (1 to 5 m), and lays 2 cream-colored eggs, but only one chick survives.

At birth, the squabs are weak, blind, naked, and immobile. Both parents carry out incubation for 2 weeks, and the young fledge in 12 to 13 days.

What is their conservation status?

As per the IUCN Red List, the Common emerald dove is classified as of Least Concern. It is also categorized as a Schedule-IV bird as per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Common Emerald Dove Fun Facts

What do common emerald doves look like?

The fascinating emerald dove has a very distinctive look, whose back and wings are bright emerald green. Their tail and flight feathers are black, while in flight, white and black bars present on the lower back and buff underwing.

The underparts and head are dark pink to grayish on the underside of the belly. The bird's legs and feet are rufous, eyes are dark brown, the bill bright red.

The male dove has a blue-gray crown and a white mark on the edge of the shoulders, whereas females are browner in complexion with a gray patch on the shoulder. Immature birds resemble females but have brown markings on wing plumage and their bodies.

How cute are they?

The beautiful green-winged pigeon looks cute with bright emerald green wings and black flight feathers gleaming in a beam of light. These birds attract humans with their friendly and peaceful nature.

How do they communicate?

The emerald dove is a calm and tranquil bird, which usually makes a low soft, moaning, cooing call that consists of 6 or 7 coos starting quietly and rising. These birds also have a nasal hoo-hoo-hoon. Males perform a bobbing dance during lovemaking. They also give a series of soft hiccup calls.

How big is a common emerald dove?

The green dove is a stocky, medium-sized pigeon, typically 9.1-10.6 in (23-27 cm). Thus, they are bigger than a common ground dove.

How fast can a common emerald dove fly?

The Asian emerald dove, the flight is direct and fast, but the information related to their flight speed is not known. These species often fly low between the areas of the dense forest it prefers.

When flying through forests they are good weavers, exposing their black flight feathers and buff underwing. They usually walk or run nimbly rather than flying. Eurasian collared dove from the same family has a top speed of 60 mph (96.5 kph).

How much does a common emerald dove weigh?

An adult common emerald dove weighs between 3 - 4.8 oz (86 - 135 g). Thus, they are heavier than the Inca dove, whose average weight is 1.1 - 2.0 oz (30 - 58 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Like other bird species, a female green-winged pigeon is called a hen, and the male green-winged pigeon is called a cock.

What would you call a baby common emerald dove?

If you see a baby green dove, you can call it a chick. Grown-up chicks are called fledglings.

What do they eat?

Emerald doves feed on various seeds, fruits, grass seeds, rice, wheat, and figs. They also consume chopped fruits and occasionally termites and mealworms. These birds are quite terrestrial, often seen on the ground feeding below tree cover, searching for fallen fruits, and spend little time in trees except when roosting.

Are they poisonous?

No, the emerald dove is not poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

The common emerald dove is generally tame and approachable, making it as a good pet for people with kids. It is a calm and friendly bird that requires minimal maintenance and interaction. They have also been adapted to feed on bread, wheat, rice, popcorn, cake, currants, and peanuts in cities.

Did you know...

In 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus placed the common emerald dove in the genus Columba and coined its binomial name as Columba indica. Linnaeus used the epithet indica, which means Indian in Latin, to denote that the bird had come from the East Indies. Then in 1843, English ornithologist John Gould changed it to genus Chalcophaps.

This bird is primarily frugivorous, but unlike most frugivores, they destroy the seeds they eat and don't play a significant role in plant dispersal.

Green-winged doves are known to be good weavers, fly low between the patches of the dense forest it prefers with apparent ease.

Emerald doves usually occur singly, in pairs, or in small groups. If you ever find a dove, try to return it to its nest, or if found injured see a veterinarian. If not, bring it home, and as it is a low-maintenance and friendly bird, it can be a good pet and be a member of your family.

Do common emerald doves migrate?

No, they are not migratory. However, emerald doves may travel long distances to forage in lowland and montane forests, mangroves, and farmlands.

What is the difference between a common emerald dove and a regular Dove?

Here are some differences between a regular dove and a green-winged dove.

The common emerald dove (state bird of Tamil Nadu) looks similar to aregular dove, with the slight difference that its wings are bright emerald green.

The emerald dove can measure between 9.1 - 10.6 in (23.1-26.9 cm) is comparatively smaller than a regular dove, whose length is around 11-15 in (27.9 - 38.1 cm).

The emerald dove's call is a low soft, moaning, cooing call of six or seven coos starting quietly. Whereas the regular dove's call is a loud moaning 'cooo-rooooo-cu-cu'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our eastern wood pewee facts and hyacinth macaw facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable common emerald dove coloring pages.

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Written by Adekunle Olanrewaju Jason

Bachelor of Science specializing in Mass Communication.

Adekunle Olanrewaju Jason picture

Adekunle Olanrewaju JasonBachelor of Science specializing in Mass Communication.

With over 3+ years of professional experience, Olanrewaju is a certified SEO Specialist and Content Writer. He holds a BSc in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. Throughout his dynamic career, Olanrewaju has successfully taken on various roles with startups and established organizations. He has served as a Technical Writer, Blogger, SEO Specialist, Social Media Manager, and Digital Marketing Manager. Known for his hardworking nature and insightful approach, Olanrewaju is dedicated to continuous learning and improvement.
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