Mourning dove — Zenaida macroura
Bird of the week: CLXXIV
We have an abundance of Mourning doves in our yard. It’s a common bird in our Sonoran Desert and throughout the USA and Mexico.
RANGE:
DESCRIPTION (from All About Birds):
“A graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove that’s common across the continent. Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying. Mourning doves are the most frequently hunted species in North America.”
Mourning doves are medium-sized birds of 9 to 13 inches (23 to 33 cm) in length and weighing between 3 and 6 ounces (85 to 170 grams).
A Mourning dove couple eating birdseed in our backyard. They are monogamous and mate for life, unless one of them dies. Then they will look for another mate. Mourning doves are known to be affectionate with each other and you can see them preening and hanging out.
It’s not unusual to see three flying in a tight formation during the breeding season. The bird in the lead is the mated male. A rival male will be in close second hoping to chase the first male from where he wants to mate and nest. The female, who is mated to the lead male, follows behind.
I cannot tell the difference between the male and females because they look very similar. According to the sources I read, the males are slightly bigger. They have a light blue patch on their head, and a peachy patch on their chest along with iridescent patches on the sides of their necks. The males are supposed to be more colorful, but I have never seen a difference with my naked eyes. I can spot a bit of blue and iridescent patches in my photos.
FOOD AND NESTING:
Ninety-nine percent of Mourning doves diet is seeds. They do eat a little fruit and snails.
In the West, Mourning doves may nest on the ground. In other parts of the country, they build nests in tree branches including evergreen, orchard tree, mesquite, or cottonwood. The male supplies the twigs, grasses or other material to the female who weaves it into a nest.
They have one to two eggs per clutch, but make up the small amount of eggs by having up to six broods per year.
CALLS:
One of my favorite sounds in our backyard is the coo-ing of Mourning doves. You can listen to their calls from All About Birds here:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/sounds
They certainly are the most hunted species. We have a hawk that comes into our yard, hunting them. And our cat would just love to catch one.
Our hawks like them too. I read that 3 million are shot each year by hunters. But there’s 300 million of them left.
Being hunted so much, it’s no wonder they’re always in mourning.
You got that right! 😅
We have a regular mourning dove couple that lives in our yard year-round. They are so adorable. 💜
They are sweet birds. But I my bird feeder is dominated by them. I’m glad you have a couple in your yard, too.
Another great birding lesson in the books! Up to six broods per year is wild.
Six broods is wild. I guess that’s why my yard is filled with Mourning doves. I’m running out of birds. I only have House sparrows and White winged doves left. I also have Verdins, but I haven’t gotten good photos of them. They are tiny and flighty. I may wait until we visit the beach to continue after I finish the last of my backyard birds.
I love these beautiful birds and the song they sing! I have two of them that are usually hanging around my backyard, I think its because there are two birdbaths with a constant fresh water supply. I hear them calling outside my front door, so wonderful!!
I love listening to Mourning doves. They hang out at our bird bath, too. I’m sure yours are grateful for your bird baths. The only other birds that use it are House sparrows. After our Mourning doves have a drink they turn around and stand with their tails in the water. Maybe that cools them off?
They are so elegant.
They are good of birds to have when you have dozens of them!
We inundated with doves every day. They’re sweet little coo-ers.
I know the feeling. I must have a few dozen at least. They do have a sweet voice.
We have doves visit the garden. I am hoping we get another rain shower today!
I would love to have showers. It’s supposed to be monsoon season. But nothing yet.
Mourning doves are among the few north American birds that I’m sure I’ve seen. Lovely photos.
Thank you!
A big, juicy Eurasian collared dove would make a better meal! 😆 I’ve almost stepped on their ground nests in the desert. I didn’t realize they also nested in trees.
I don’t understand why Mourning doves are the number one hunted bird, unless they are so plentiful?
Seems odd to me, too. I would think pheasants, turkeys, or ducks would be number one.
👍🏼
I have seen a few in my neighborhood, but they are everywhere in Puerto Rico. I’m not sure why they are the most hunted, but I know that in Puerto Rico, people prepare soup with them to feed the very ill. The soup is strong, raises the body temperature, and gives an extra boost. I saw my great-grandmother’s overall energy and mood improve after eating the soup. It was just amazing.
Wow. That is so interesting about the soup!
Yes, there was a running joke about the soup bringing people back from the dead.
That’s funny. I don’t think I’d want to try dove soup, but if it helps people, I’m all for that.
I know. I tried it once and it’s actually good. I’m not sure why, but it’s a bit stronger than chicken soup.
The only soup I’ve had that tasted very strong and had good health effects was made by a friend’s mom from China. She made a tortoise soup with special herbs she ordered from Hong Kong.
Oh wow! I bet that was an experience.
It was a flavor I didn’t get used to. They owned a Chinese restaurant in Seattle’s Chinatown.
Well, at least you tried it and can talk about the experience.
True!
They make such lovely sounds! I remember wondering if I was hearing an owl years ago listening to them. It took a while to discover it was the doves. I always associate them with Mary Poppins and the song, Feed the Birds. They are sweet creatures.
They do have lovely sounds. It’s so soothing. Thanks for bringing up “Feed the Birds.” I have always loved that movie and song. I watched it recently!
Such a great movie! I love pretty much all the musicals!
When my kids were growing up, I’d rent videos from the library. I had them watch all the classics. One day my son asked me, “Do they make movies where people don’t sing and dance?”