Fun Laughing Dove Facts For Kids

The laughing dove Streptopelia senegalensis is a small pigeon that lives in different parts of the world. There are six subspecies of turtle doves. It can be singled out from other members of the group from its call and a rufous and black band in the neck.

Many other names of this bird include palm dove, laughing turtle dove, and Senegal dove. The laughing dove has a long tail and a slim body.

They prefer to live in grasslands and forest regions with great trees. The Indian dove has a uniform and dull brown back, whereas the African doves have a blue-gray upper tail covert and rump. The upper wing coverts of these African birds are rufous.

All species of doves possess red legs. The tail feathers are also the same in both sexes. Doves are usually seen in pairs. They feed on ground seeds, grains, and insects.

The male dove in courtship displays to attract the female with head-bobbing displays. The female accepts the male by crouching. Sometimes, pairs groom each other.

The breeding season depends on the environment of the residence of dove birds. Both males and females form nests with twigs in trees, buildings, and towers. A female laughing dove can lay up to two eggs per season. The lifespan of doves is between 10-15 years.

If birds are something that greatly interests you, you can also check out these hummingbird facts and western kingbird facts.

Laughing Dove Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a laughing dove?

The laughing dove Streptopelia senegalensis is a type of pigeon bird from the family Columbidae.

What class of animal does a laughing dove belong to?

The laughing dove is a bird species that belongs to the Aves class of animals.

How many laughing doves are there in the world?

The population size of this bird is between 2,400,000 and 8,200,000. The total population trend of this species is stable in the world.

Where does a laughing dove live?

The laughing dove Streptopelia senegalensis generally occurs in altitudes up to 9842 ft (3000 m). It lives in various natural habitats, such as dry savannas, dry farmland, temperate grasslands, and tropical and subtropical dry grasslands.

This bird also thrives in many artificial ecosystems including, rural gardens, urban areas, abandoned buildings, cultivated fields, and pastureland. The nests on trees and buildings in urban areas.

What is a laughing dove's habitat?

The laughing dove nest or habitat can be found in grassland, woodland, parks and gardens, mountains and in the savanna. The native distribution size range of laughing doves includes most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

The laughing dove also thrives in many other countries, such as Kazakhstan, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Perth, Western Australia, and UAE, probably introduced by human beings.

Who do laughing doves live with?

These doves like to live in pairs, small groups, and only sparsely in a larger group.

How long does a laughing dove live?

The turtle dove or laughing dove lifespan is between 5-10 years in a human settlement region, but in captivity, it lives for about eight years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season of laughing doves varies according to their range of distribution or habitat. As a resident breeder in northern Africa, the laying season is from February to June, whereas, in Egypt, the breeding season is from February to October.

Interestingly, these small pigeons have been noticed to lay throughout the years in countries like Zimbabwe, South Africa, Senegal, and Turkey. Laughing doves are monogamous and solitary birds, which means they mate with only one partner for life. They make lasting pair bonds.

They make mating calls during this season to attract or find their mate. The male pecks its wings in displacement preening in order to solicit copulation from the female.

A typical laughing dove pair builds nests with twigs, roots, and sticks for breeding and to lay eggs. Mostly, the male brings material which is then placed by the female.

After building the nest, the female lays two creamy white eggs at a time. Males incubate the eggs during the day, whereas the females incubate the eggs at night. The eggs usually hatch within 13-15 days.

The parents give regurgitated crop milk to their young ones which then fled after 15 days. Sometimes, the same pair raise different broods in a single nest.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the laughing doves is of Least Concern. It is a common, widespread species of birds.

Laughing Dove Fun Facts

What do laughing doves look like?

Laughing doves (Streptopelia senegalensis) are pigeons of family Columbidae whose feathers display on the fore neck, instead of the hindneck, like other pigeons or doves. The male laughing dove description includes a pink head and a wide band of black feathers with cinnamon tips on the front neck and the upper breast.

Laughing dove wings have distinctive gray, along with large tail feathers.

Some parts of doves, such as a mantle, inner coverts, and scapulars, are red-brown, whereas the back, rump, and outer coverts are blue-gray. The color of the throat is mauve-pink, and the primary and secondary light plumages are brown or black-gray.

With a dark-gray or brown bill, the laughing dove bird has dark brown eyes and purple-pink legs and feet. The head and other parts of both sexes are similar, but the plumage of the female Senegal is duller than the male.

The juvenile bird is paler and lacks a neck pattern.

The flight feathers of this bird are strong and long to help them soar. There are five subspecies of laughing dove, which differ in size and color intensity.

How cute are they?

Laughing doves are cute and a unique pigeon bird species. The band around their neck and beautiful colored feathers make them quite attractive.

How do they communicate?

The call of the laughing doves is 'cou kuRU kuru-koou'. Their voices can be heard all year round, day and night.

How big is a laughing dove?

The laughing dove is 9.8-10.6 in (25-27 cm) in length, and it is similar in size to a cape starling bird.

How fast can a laughing dove fly?

Like all other columbiformes, laughing doves have a powerful and fast flight. The male Senegal leaves its nest or perch with noisy beats of wings and then raises at significant height before descending by soaring with spread wings and tail.

How much does a laughing dove weigh?

The weight range lies between 2.5-3.2 oz (70-92 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no seperate names for the males and females.

What would you call a baby laughing dove?

A baby Senegal bird is generally known as a chick.

What do they eat?

Various food sources of laughing turtle species include ground seeds, vegetable matter, grains, small insects, flies, ants, and termites. These birds also consume fruits, nectar from the aloe vera plant, and snails.

Are they dangerous?

No, this bird is not dangerous for human beings, but it can damage the crops for their grains.

Would they make a good pet?

The laughing dove has colorful and soft feathers. Also, these columbiformes have a friendly nature. Therefore, some people like to keep these birds as pets. However, the life of these birds is long and active in the wild, and they would be more comfortable in the wild among trees and grass in their nest

Did you know...

In India, the laughing doves are also known as little brown doves.

When a laughing dove laughs, it makes a laugh sound like 'ha-ha-ha' which is the reason why they are called laughing doves.

How did the laughing dove get its name?

Earlier, Mathurin Jacques Brisson added a description of the laughing doves in his book 'Ornithologie'. He used two different names: French name and Latin name. After the introduction of Carl Linnaeus's binomial system, he renamed 240 species described by Brisson, one of which was the laughing dove.

Do laughing doves migrate?

Little brown doves are moderately migrating birds. Their African population makes shorter seasonal movements. However, in most of their range in Africa, central Asia, the Middle East, and India, they breed in their residents and do not migrate to other places.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Eurasian collared dove facts, and Toco Toucan facts pages.

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