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Hello I am Piep*, a young turtledove with the Latin name of Streptopelia turtur. I live in Ness-Ziona, Israel. My parents
built a nest in a windowsill, behind a flowerpot and my mother laid 2 eggs.
My proud parents brood us during 14 to 21 days. End of May, 1992, I was born
naked; my brother followed the next day. Soon small yellow feathers started
to grow.
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Our parents took care
of us, on turn. They would relay each other every few hours, which would give
rise to a small elegant ballet with lot’s of singing: toorr, toorr, toorr,
... We grew quickly thanks to the food of our parents. It is a sort of “milk”
that they draw back from their stomach and feed us. One day, unfortunately, my brother vanished, and was not
found anymore. My parents were so distressed that they abandoned me in the
nest. This is when I met my first humans, Esther, Arie and
Louise. They cared for my survival and took me in the house, after my parents
did not show up anymore. I was given a cardboard box, filled with cloth
material and tissue, to sleep. I loved my box and would hide under the tissue
when feeling a bit cold. I was also fed at regular intervals, and if food
would not arrive on time, I would start making little noises: piiiiiip,
piiiiiip, piiiiiip. My human friends have started to call me Piep since then. My wings became soon an additional tool to attract
attention for food. One morning, around the 3rd week
post-hatching, food was late to come. I decided to go out of my cardboard and
try to find something to eat. Guess what ? I could fly !!! It was not yet perfect
and I would find myself in some delicate situations, like landing in the
middle of a plant... |
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From now on, I enjoy total freedom to discover
the apartment ! And droppings ? Since the beginning of my human
experiment, I was trained to do them on a piece of white tissue and I kept
this good habit. Unfortunately, I made some small errors. Esther’s bed sheets
are indeed also white, so I left a few droppings there too. She was never
angry, and soon I knew the difference between a paper towel and cloth
material. My days are rather filled. I am late to get up, on the
contrary of my wild brothers. Impossible to get me out of my basket before
8.30 in the morning !!! When one attempts to do so, I will return in my
basket till the right time. Once awake, I will start a series of yawning,
wing stretching and feet exercises. This can take up to 15 minutes. When
ready, I will fly onto the dining table, where I find my breakfast. This
consists of a variety of grains, some fresh fruit, dry bread and water. Between 9 AM and noon, I usually nap in the sun, washing
and brushing my growing feathers. I remove the skin layer that covers them,
groom them and put them in the right arrangement. In the afternoon, I usually
fly around in the apartment, eat grains, and nap.
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I got used to the departure of Esther, in the morning,
and her return in the late afternoon. Sometimes, I feel a bit sad that she
leaves in the morning. I would then fly on top of a shoe and wait. Each time,
she will pick me up, and rub my feathers while uttering pleasing words in my
ears. After this, I am ready to spend the day alone. |
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As soon as she comes home, I follow her everywhere
through the apartment. She will prepare herself a coffee, and settle on the
couch in the living room. This makes me very happy. On a sign of her hand, I
will fly and settle on her shoulder. We can stay a few hours like this,
without moving. Sometimes, Esther falls asleep and I will make myself
comfortable too, till she gets awake. |
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At the end of the evening, we are both tired. I will
usually climb in my basket, turn a bit around and settled on my small pillow.
I fall quickly asleep, till 8.30 next day… * Unfortunately, the nice story of Piep ended unexpectedly
on July 30, 1992. Piep died of a heart attack, minutes after an enormous
explosion in an ammunition store. (S)He was buried in a garden, under a nice
flowering shrub.
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