Turtur tympanistria (Tambourine dove)

Turtur tympanistria (Tambourine dove)

Witborsduifie [Afrikaans]; Isavu [Xhosa]; isiBhelu, isiKhombazane-sehlathi [Zulu]; Xivhambalana (generic term for dove) [Tsonga]; Tamboerijnduif [Dutch]; Tourtelette tambourette [French]; Tamburintaube [German]; Rola-de-papo-branco [Portuguese]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Columbiformes > Family: Columbidae > Genus: Turtur


Tambourine dove., Tanzania [photo Martin Goodey ©]	Tambourine dove, Kruger National Park, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]

The Tambourine dove occurs across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Uganda south to southern Africa. Here it is locally common in riverine woodland and evergreen forest, often occupying coastal forest in the Western and Eastern Capes. It eats a variety of fruit, seeds and invertebrates, usually foraging on the ground. Both sexes construct the nest, which is a fragile saucer made of twigs, leaves and petioles, placed in tangled creepers, bushes or trees. Here it lays 1-2 eggs, which are incubated mainly by the female for about 17-20 days .The chicks are fed about four times daily by both parents, who regurgitate food eaten previously. They are brooded constantly for the first few days of their lives, staying in the nest for about 19-22 days.

Distribution and habitat

Occurs across sub-Saharan Africa, excluding arid areas. Here it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, the Limpopo province and large areas of the east coast of South Africa, from KwaZulu-Natal to the Western Cape. It generally prefers riverine woodland and evergreen forest, often occupying coastal forest in the Western and Eastern Cape.

Distribution of Tambourine dove in southern Africa, based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas Project (© Animal Demography unit, University of Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common). See here for the latest distribution from the SABAP2.

Food

It eats a variety of fruit, seeds and invertebrates, usually foraging on the ground. The following food items have been recorded in its diet:

Plants
- seeds
  - grasses
    - Eleusine
    - Sorghum
  - trees
    - Albizia
    - Celtis
    - Croton
    - Ricinus communis (alien Castor Oil Bush)
- small fruit
  - Solanum
  - Syzygium cordatum (Waterberry)
  - Trema orientalis
Invertebrates
- termites
- small molluscs

Breeding

Both sexes construct the nest, which is a fragile saucer made of twigs, leaves and petioles. The male collects material and hands it to the female, who then incorporates it to the structure. It is typically placed among the tangled branches of a creeper, in a bush or tree, often in vegetation next to rivers.
Egg-laying season is from about September-May.
It lays 1-2 eggs, which are incubated mainly by the female for about 17-20 days.
The chicks are fed about four times daily by both parents, who regurgitate food eaten previously. They are brooded constantly for the first few days of their lives, staying in the nest for about 19-22 days.

Threats

Not threatened.

References

Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.