Baby Dove Update Number 5

Well, I'll interrupt the travel posts for another baby dove update. These first two babies are from nest 2. They are, at this point, 9 and 10 days old as there was a delay of one day between their hatching. Just look at the size of those wings!:

You may recall that the second baby was born nearly naked and quite fragile looking. He (or she) lived and appears to be doing well enough, but is falling behind the growth of his nest mate. He is also quite shy and tries to hide his head beneath his sibling. But he is now developing white feathers:

I see some color on the bigger baby, so that one will likely be a pied. The smaller baby is still a mystery. Most white doves are not albinos, though at first glance they even have red eyes. I compared this baby to his white mother. Her eye has an orange iris with a black pupil. But this baby has pure pink eyes. I checked the internet and learned that one sign of a true albino chick is that they are born totally naked, without even baby fuzz. So it now appears that's what we have. I also learned that they tend to be less hardy than other doves and are prone to vision problems, especially if kept in bright sunlight. This baby should thrive as someone's pet, however. At least I'll hope so:

And here's all four babies from both nests. From top to bottom, they are 12 days old, 12 days old, 10 days old, 9 days old:

The 12 day old babies from nest 1 are now becoming little birds and beginning to show their colors. This one is becoming a fawn and white pied, a lovely dove some day:

The two babies from nest 1 are similar, but the dark patches on one of them are fawn, and on the other are a darker brown:

And they fill up the nest. Any day now they'll break out and begin roosting with their parents:

I find it fascinating to watch these babies with their rapid rates of growth and array of colors. Their parents are devoted and work tirelessly to get these youngsters out and on their own. It's a shame that they're not more popular pets than they are. I suppose their rapid reproduction rate and loud cooing are among the drawbacks to wider acceptance. Well, I'll keep you updated as the babies grow. It won't take long before they're all grown at the rate they're going: