Actually, it's not the first time I've seen turtledoves nesting on the windowsill. As early as ten years ago, a pair of turtledoves lived on the windowsill of my house for four or five years.
Probably one day in 2005, I was lying in bed reading a book, and suddenly I heard the cry of "goo goo" and "goo goo" coming from the window. Listening to the long-lost voice, I called out "Turtledove" in surprise, then rolled over and sat up and looked out of the window. Sure enough, a pair of turtledoves were parked on the windowsill outside the window. The two birds stood opposite each other, with their heads down and their heads up, and at the same time they made "goo goo" and "goo goo" calls. According to the experience of raising turtledoves when I was a child, I judged that these are a pair of turtledoves in estrus, and now they are looking for a place to nest and prepare for their next birth.
Turtle dove is a handsome bird, looks like a pigeon and is a little timid. Because turtledoves are timid, they usually stay away from humans when nesting. But what I didn't expect was that the pair of turtledoves actually started picking branches and nesting on my windowsill the next day. The nest built by turtledove is very rough. When we describe someone's rough work here, we often say, "You are really a turtledove laying eggs". Thus, the turtle's nest is very simple. As long as you can lay eggs, you can make do.
On the third day, the turtle nest has been built, which is extremely simple; On the fourth day, two turtle eggs the size of quail eggs lay quietly in a simple nest.
The incubation period of turtle eggs is about 15 days. The newly hatched turtledove hasn't opened her eyes yet, and her mouth is sharp and blue-black. The skin is blue and black, and there are some thin white hairs on it. In another five or six days, the turtledove began to shed white fluff and grow grayish brown feathers. At this time, one turtledove "looks after the house" and the other one goes out for food. Seeing the flying turtledoves, the two little turtledoves immediately craned their necks, opened their mouths and made a quick "chirp" sound, flapping their wings to meet them.
Ten days later, the little turtledoves were full of wings, and the old turtledoves guided them to fly to the balcony and practiced flying between the balcony and the window lattice. After three or four days of "flying practice", the little turtledove can leave the nest to feed independently.
When Turtledove first came to my house, my son had just entered primary school, which was a stubborn age. Obviously, the arrival of turtledove excited him. In order to prevent my son from playing tricks, I told him about the habits of turtledoves in the nesting stage and told him not to scare them. After the Turtledove came out of its shell, I told him the truth that "Don't catch birds in Sanchun, and my son is waiting for his mother to come back in the nest". My son is obedient and doesn't interfere with the life of the Turtledove family, but sometimes he can't resist the temptation and will climb to the window to peep. The wings of the little turtledove are getting bigger and bigger. When the two old turtledoves are not at home, the son will hold the little turtledove in his hand and play with it up and down. The little turtledove gripped his fingers tightly and opened his wings one by one. I saw that he meant no harm to the little turtledove, so I let him play.
Those turtledoves lived on my balcony for four or five years and hatched more than a dozen nests of small turtledoves. Around 2009, with the last batch of small turtledoves out of the nest, this turtledove also disappeared. Many years have passed, and the humble turtle nest still exists alone on the windowsill of my house.
Turtledove, who has lived on the windowsill for many years, has added a little fun to the monotonous life of my family and put on a little bright color, but at the same time it has subverted some of my cognition. For example, I always thought that birds only breed in spring and summer, but one December, the turtledoves actually bred a nest. With the continuous development of society, the living environment of animals is also changing, and the living habits of birds are also changing accordingly. This is probably "survival of the fittest". Turtle dove is timid by nature, originally far away from the crowd, but now it keeps nesting on people's windowsills. I hope that human beings can cherish these helpless actions of animals, leave some habitats for them, and let people live in harmony with nature.
(The author is from zhenping county No.1 High School)
China Teachers' Daily March 02, 2022 16 edition.