We wanted a home mate
But could not confine
dogs, birds or fish
to the indoors
So we consoled ourselves
Observing neigbours’ pets
Watching stray creatures
And recalling childhood companions
Until Ms. Columbidae came visiting
We chased her away
And wanted to ‘grill’ her out
But she returned
And:
Built her nest
Laid two eggs
Warmed them well
Hatched the squabs
Who pecked at her crop
And chirped, jumped and pooped
As they grew
Mr. Dove helped too
And one fine day
Away they flew
All within a month
She’s back in our balcony
Or is she someone else?
Hey, there are more outside
We have been pigeon-holed!
Ms. Columbidae with her eggs
Keeping them warm
Little Pu and Ra
Inseparable siblings
Adolescent doves
Preparing for flight
Using the initial parts of my name and his, I call the 2 lil’ doves or “squabs”, Pu and Ra. Coincidentally, Pura is the Tamil word for dove or pigeon which are technically the same and belong to the family Columbidae. Female and male pigeons which are shy of humans raise 2 babies together for a month. The young feed from a region around the parents’ neck known as the “crop”.
(Sorry, but the pictures are hardly pretty as the nest is in inaccessible corner of our smaller balcony. I retained the messy bits to ensure a realistic view!)