Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

Order COLUMBIFORMES - Family COLUMBIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

Abundant and widespread, the Mourning Dove is well known throughout most of North America. Its mournful call is heard from deserts to forest edges, from farmlands to inner cities.

Cool Facts

• During nest-building, the female stays at the nest and the male collects sticks. He stands on her back to give her the nest material. She takes it and weaves it into the nest. Maybe that's why the nests are so poorly built!

• The Mourning Dove almost invariably lays two eggs. Clutches of three or four are the result of more than one female laying in the nest. A dove may have up to five or six clutches in a single year.

• A Mourning Dove pair rarely leaves its eggs unattended. The male usually incubates from midmorning until late afternoon, and the female sits the rest of the day and night.

• The Mourning Dove is the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America. Despite being hunted throughout most of its range, it remains among the 10 most abundant birds in the United States.

Description

• Size: 23-34 cm (9-13 in)
• Wingspan: 37-45 cm (15-18 in)
• Weight: 86-170 g (3.04-6.0 ounces)

• Medium-sized bird.
• Small head.
• Long, pointed tail.
• Light brown body.
• Tail with white outer edges.

Back grayish brown. Underside buffy. Black spots on wings. Black comma-shaped spot below and behind eye. Tail graduated, with inner feathers longest. Tail gray, with white tips bordered by black on outermost feathers. Bill small and thin, black. Legs and feet dull red. Eyes dark brown, surrounded by blue skin. Wings make whistling noise in flight.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but males slightly larger and slightly more colorful, with bluish crown and pink chest.

Male

Bluish gray cap and nape. Pinkish rosy hue over face, throat, and breast. Neck feathers tinged with pink iridescence. Outer three tail feathers with white.

Female

Olive gray cap and nape. Face and throat olive brown. Breast tan. Neck feathers tinged with olive green iridescence; sometimes with pink. Outer one or two feathers with white.

Immature

Juvenile grayish brown with light scaly edges to feathers. Tail shorter and more square.

Similar Species

• Rock Dove, or domestic pigeon, is larger and chunkier, with broad wings and a square tail, usually with a white rump, but no white in the tail.
• Eurasian Collared-Dove is larger and heavier than the Mourning Dove, though still slender. It has a long square-tipped tail with white corners, but the white is not outlined in black. It has a distinct black line, or collar, across the back of its neck.

Sound

Song a plaintive Òcoo-OOH, Ooo-Ooo-OooÓ. Wings whistle in flight.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from southern Canada throughout the United States to Central America and the Caribbean.

Winter Range

Resident over most of range, but leaves Great Plains and northernmost areas in winter.

Habitat

Breeds in variety of open habitats, including agricultural areas, open woods, deserts, forest edges, cities and suburbs.

Food

Seeds.

Behavior

Foraging

Feeds mostly on ground, especially on relatively bare ground. Feeds in pairs or flocks.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Flimsy platform of twigs, pine needles, or grass stems. In trees, tangles of shrubs, or vines up to 50 feet. Rarely on the ground. Sometimes in hanging flower pots or other man-made structures.

Egg Description

Color: White

Size: 25.7?29.6 mm x 20.6?23.0 mm.
(1.1-1.2 in x 0.8-0.9 in)

Incubation period: 14 days.

Clutch Size

2 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with some cream-colored down
Chicks fledge in 15 days.

Conservation Status

Widespread and abundant. Hunted throughout its range. Possibly declining in West. You can help scientists learn more about this species by participating in the Celebrate Urban Birds! project.

Other Names

Tourterelle triste (French)
Huilota (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Mirarchi, R. E., and T. S. Baskett. 1994. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). In The Birds of North America, No. 117 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.