Jack the collared dove was not best suited for the 'doviary', as it is not really large enough for fully flighted permanent residents. We had hoped he would be company for Dovelet(te), who is disabled, but they didn't show any great interest (we think they may both be males).
So, Jack is in the main aviary now, the domain of Poppet dove, tormentor of woodpigeons and wing-slapper of even the fiercest ferals. We wondered how they'd get on, and I thought that there might be some enmity between them, but we have another situation.
Seems that Jack sees Poppet as an ideal mate, and is intent on pursuing her in best amorous dovey manner. I caught him twitching a wing at her, then hopping onto a nearby perch and doing a dove bow and coo.When Poppet gives out her soft, melodic coos, they are followed or duetted by full-throttle male dovey coos. Where Poppet goes, the past couple of days Jack has followed. Just one problem - me :)
Poppet grew up with a family a few miles from my home town, having been saved from cat-dom outside their house. She was very tiny when found, and by the time I collected her to give her a permanent home, she was confidently flitting from human to human, and wandering the kitchen work surfaces, like she was born to be a house dove. Well, for whatever reason, while Poppet was inside at Cynthia's, she became fixated on me as her substitute mate, I guess. Even now, after some years in the aviary with all the pigeons and occasional temporary dove or two, she is forever on my head or my shoulder, or cooing at me from the nearest nest box when I'm cleaning out poop, waiting for me to preen her and give her affection. Woe betide a woodpigeon to whom I show any attention, and if I offer them lettuce or peanuts, there's Poppet doing her best to elbow them out of the way. One time, she picked up a little twig from a nest box and placed it in my hair - a sign for me to build a nest, maybe?
Well, today I had Poppet cooing at me from a box as I cleaned, but Jack in the next available box cooing at Poppet. As I moved around the 'shed', and Poppet followed box to box, so did Jack. Poor little fella is going to wear out his coo-er, the way he's going. Yesterday, Jack (who went into dovey panic mode at human presence in the 'doviary') was eating lettuce held out for him. I strongly suspect he'd been watching Poppet cheerfuly chomping on a leaf and decided "this is what a dovey must do to prove he is fearless"
We would love to see Poppet finally accept another dove, and do dovey things, but so far it looks like Jack really has his work cut out. I just hope he can persevere and - in my absence - get at least a little further with his wooing :)
Poppet in foreground (of course) with Jack on the next perch (being camera shy)
Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:06 pm
She was mean and it went on for months.
dove in Poppet's eyes. 
Sammy and Romey. 