Parental Care

The picture on the left, sent to me by my friend Salma evoked a -- is this for real response in me. I could not imagine a bird being so loving and so very caring of its young. Obviously I was wrong because I sent my question and the picture to an ornithologist
in my bird group named S. Subramanya. This was his response:

"I would believe so Marianne. This image is of a male Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, a denizen of the Western Ghats and the forests of the North-east. Breeds between March-September with the ideal period being April-June. Typically lays two eggs in a nest which is a flimsy platform of twigs, built some 6-8m up in a moderate canopy and both the parents take part in domestic duties of nest-building, incubation (12-14 days) and nestling care.

The picture was doing the email rounds under the banner of parental love and Subu said:

I would not term it as parental love, could well be part of the species parental care.

Feast your eyes on the picture which will evoke a warm feeling in the breast of any parent!