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Spotted Dove (Spilopelia Chinensis) - Egg To Development At 4 Days Old
Spotted dove or eastern spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) chicks hatch from one or two glossy white eggs after about 13-16 days of incubation by both parents on a nest made of twigs, grasses, and roots. They emerge as helpless, downy nestlings and are blind, fed with "crop milk" by their parents until they fledge around two weeks later. They stay near their parents for another week or two for feeding. At four days old, they are still very young and entirely dependent on their parents for warmth and food. They are small and fragile, with eyes likely still closed or just beginning to open. They do not yet have their distinctive spotted neck pattern or adult feathers; those develop as they mature. Here, a Spotted dove builds a nest and lays eggs, hatching its young next to a broom made of coconut fronds by a house in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on April 12, 2025. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)
Photo Details
| Photo ID | #13149445 |
|---|---|
| Date Taken | |
| Location | N/A |
| Photographer | Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto |
| Category | Human Interest |
| Copyright | © 2026 NurPhoto - Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto |
Related Keywords
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Spotted dove
eastern spotted dove
Spilopelia chinensis
chicks
eggs
incubation
parents
nest
twigs
grasses
roots
altricial
downy nestlings
blind
crop milk
nutrient-rich secretion
crop
fledge
leave the nest
feeding
warmth
food
fragile
eyes
spotted neck pattern
adult feathers
mature
haphazardly built nest
coconut fronds
Tehatta
West Bengal
India
Soumyabrata Roy
NurPhoto
2025.
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