Zebra dove (Geopelia striata)

Perkutut or zebra dove (Geopelia striata) is a species of animal in the Columbidae, a monomorphic, grain-eating bird, although may also eat insects and small invertebrates, blue iris, black and white stripes are cut off by light brown on the thorax and abdomen.

G. striata has a length of 21 cm, slender and a long tail. Gray head and neck, smooth striped sides and brown back with black edges. The tail is blackish with a white tip. Bluish gray iris and beak, dark legs.

Zebra doves live in pairs or small groups. Prefers open fields for eating at ground level in forests, gardens, parks, farmlands, pastures, yards and sometimes gather to drink at water sources.

The nests are flat and thin, built using branches in the canopy of large trees and sometimes not far from settlements, although they will quickly fly away if humans arrive. Eggs are white, 2 items and breed in January-September.

Perkutut are unique in their beautiful songs and have been the favorite birds of kings in Java since the Majapahit Kingdom. Voices generally consist of front, middle and end sounds. Waveform analysis shows males pass on the front sound and number of beats to their offspring, while females pass on the end sound and give a touch of rhythm.

G. striata that is farmed is usually fed only grains including white millet, red millet, millet, small grain and black sticky rice. Sometimes also canary seeds, godem seeds, mustard seeds and cuttlefish bones for mineral needs.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Geopelia
Species: Geopelia striata

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