The Fickle Female Ringneck Dove

Monogamous she is not

Young male ringneck dove, personal photo

Nine ringneck doves coexist with my parrot flock. Of these nine, two are female. See a problem? Or opportunities for a female who finds her current mate wanting?

The doves do not interact with me, nor do they wish to do so. They do not have names as my parrots do. No, they exist, dividing up the bird room into small ardently defended territories. Their incessant cooing is either annoying or soothing. A male dove joined our household because his previous owner found his cooing annoying. The doves spend their days cooing, wooing, fighting over territory incursions, and creating messes for me to clean up. They are exceedingly messy birds as well as wasteful eaters, scattering seeds in all directions.

Meet my oldest female, who will be called madame for this story, who has been with me for a decade. She is now cuddling up to her third mate. She is clearly identifiable due to one droopy wing, an injury sustained in an encounter with a parrot.

Madame with the damaged wing. She has no problem flying.

Madame, now residing with one of her handsome sons, incest not being a stigma in bird mating, seems content. What happened to mate number one? Sad ending for this guy. He was…