Dusky Turtle Dove, Ethiopia
Dusky Turtle Dove, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Dusky Turtle Dove (Streptopelia lugens) was a challenging bird for me to photograph during my visit to Ethiopia last December. Although they were relatively common on the school campus where my daughter was teaching, during our 2 week stay this species was almost reclusive in nature. One evening I stealthily chased one around the playground trying to get a photo. It was almost dark and the flash needed to be employed, but the bird keep moving around quickly and generally just out of effective reach of the flash.
On another occasion one bird was feeding in the car park right out in the open. Again it was in poor light and the bird keep moving around rapidly, to quickly to get the camera focussed on it. All those shots were blurred. In the end, I only managed to get 2 photos reasonable enough to show here. That’s nature photography I guess. You win some, you lose some – and the rest are just plain challenging.
Doing a little research on this species I have found little in the way of information online. It appears that both males and females of this species, along with closely related species, are able to produce “crop milk”, a soft lumpy substance resembling cheese. When it is fed to the young it nourishes them with its high protein content. Read more about it here.
Dusky Turtle Dove, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
I love that first shot- such a gorgeous wing! I’m greatly enjoying your bird tour of Ethiopia
Thanks Louise – and there’s more to come – then Morocco and Spain!
On the down side, all 3 countries displayed few birds compared to Australia – but then, it was winter there after all.
Just made me glad to live in Australia with all our wonderful birds – especially the parrots. Hardly saw any parrots at all over the 6 weeks – except for a few introduced parrots in Spain.
[…] Sometimes a great shot presents itself with little planning on my part. On this occasion this Dusky Turtle Dove in Addis Ababa last December was not aware of my presence high up on the other side of a small […]
Nice shot. I’m yet to see a pigeon or dove that I haven’t liked. Have you seen a bleeding heart pigeon? Funny little things they are. If you get a chance to get up to Cairns, you should visit BirdWorld at Kuranda, there you can get up close with many species.