The laughing dove feeds primarily on seeds, but it also eats other vegetable matter, such as fruit, as well as small insects, particularly termites (3) (5). It typically takes fallen seeds and fruit from the ground, although occasionally it may pluck and eat fruit while perched (3).
Although the laughing dove typically occurs individually or in pairs (6), it may gather in flocks at watering points, roosting spots (3), or where there is an abundance of food. At such feeding sites, hooting and moaning can be heard as the laughing doves bicker over the food (5).
The male laughing dove has a spectacular flight display, which it performs to advertise itself to females. With noisy wing beats, it leaves its perch and flies to a considerable height before sailing downwards with its wings and tail spread wide. When courting, the male rapidly bobs its head while gently cooing, showing off its colourful collar (3) (5). Before mating occurs, the female has also been observed transferring some food into the male’s open bill (5).
A monogamous bird, the laughing dove only has one partner and will tend to return to the same nesting site year after year (7). It may nest at any time during the year, but peaks in nesting are often recorded in spring (3), or during the rainy season (5). Each nest is typically situated on its own, in a fruit tree, but occasionally a few breeding pairs may nest close together (3).
The male laughing dove collects materials for the nest and the female then builds the nest with meticulous care. Each nest consists of 100 to 140 twigs and, despite its flimsy appearance, it can last up to nine months, even through monsoons (5). The female typically lays two eggs at a time, and both the male and female take turns to incubate the eggs for up to two weeks. The female lays eggs on average 6 times each year, resulting in 10 to 16 eggs being produced per breeding season (3).