Emerald Dove Husbandry Manual - Nswfmpa.org

3. Natural History
Jennifer Brown ● Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica ● Husbandry manual
The Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) has a wide distribution across tropical southern
Asia to Indonesia and to Australia. Th e d ove is kn own by many names in e ach o f the
countries. The Emerald Dove is also the state bird of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The
dove also has a number of subspecies which are thought to have been brought about by
their locality and isolation. Three of these subspecies can be found in Australia.
The Emerald Dove is a widespread and common bird. This bird though can be shy so they
are rarel y seen an d can u sually b e found f oraging u nder f oliage i n p airs o r si ngly o r
sometimes rarely even in small groups. Unlike other doves, Emerald Doves forage alone
or i n p airs. I f a group i s att racted t o a food r ich ar ea t hey will eac h m aintain a sm all
feeding territory.
The Emerald Dove prefers a dense forest to open grass land and can often be found on
the ground rather than in the air. While the birds roost in trees they forage for fallen fruit,
seeds and plants o n the g round d uring t he d ay, t hey will al so v isit m ineral s eeps i n the
forest. They often fly quite low through the trees and are adapt at weaving in and out of
a dense forest (Higgens, et. al 1996).
They are usually a bird that can be approach easily. When their FFF zone is compromised
the b ird wi ll rat her w alk awa y t han f ly, an d wi ll o nly t ake f light wh en t hey are real ly
pushed to do so.
Due to their beautiful coloration and soothing call the Emerald Dove is often trapped and
sold as cage birds in Asia and the Indonesia region.
There i s l ittle d ata o n th e differences between t he subspecies o f t he E merald D ove
though the differences between the Australian subspecies have been documented
(Brown, D 1995). There is colour variation between the subspecies but findings differ as to
the extent of the colour variation between the subspecies and again between the sexes
within the subspecies especially in subspecies found outside of Australia.
There have been studies that have been completed on the growth of individuals within
the subspecies o f t he E merald Dove b ut there is n o c onformed g rowth c hart f or th e
species. The st udies p erformed were m erely m easuring b irds and t he r esults were not
converted into a growth rate chart (Higgins et al. 1996).
There again, have been no major studies into breeding for this species of bird. The
breeding seaso n c an b e t hroughout th e y ear an d depends o n t he l ocality o f t he b irds
and local environmental factors. They do nest in small leafy bushes, trees or even vines.
They construct a n est from accumulated twigs and leaf litter with a r ecorded nest being
as sm all as o nly c ontaining e ight s ticks (Higgins et al. 1996) an d other n ests being q uite
substantial in construction.
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