Oriental Turtle Dove

Streptopelia orientalis (Latham, 1790)

2021-05-28 Nooruz, Bishkek, Chui region	© Irina Romanovskaia

Biology

Numerous breeding migrant. Inhabits coniferous, mixed or deciduous forests on plains and in mountains up to 1600 (Altai) – 2600 (Talasskiy Alatau) m. Arrives in mid-March to mid-May, migration finishes in end of May – mid-June. Breeds by separate pairs. Nest is built from thin twigs on the bush (hawthorn, honeysuckle, dog-rose) or tree (spruce, pine, fir, juniper, birch, asp, willow, apple-tree, apricot-tree) at height 1-4 to 10 m above the ground. Clutch of 2 eggs is laid in mid-May – mid-July. Probably rears two brood per season; re-nesting after loss of first clutch is common. Both parents incubate clutch for about 20 days and then feed juveniles. As soon as breeding finishes the broods join in flocks and disperse on stubble fields and other rich-food places. Autumn migration begins in August by flocks of several dozen birds. Mass flight occurs in end of August – first half of September. Odd individuals linger to end of November – early December.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург. Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.