Mourning Dove

It is a Mourning Dove. They are known for their sound. It is a medium-sized bird that looks elegant. To know more about them read this blog. 

Introduction 

• A widespread dove that is elegant, small-headed, and has a thin tail.
• The swift, bullet-straight flight of mourning doves allows them to perch on telephone lines and graze for seeds on the ground.
• Their sluggish, prolonged calls resemble laments. Their wings emit a piercing whistling or whinnying sound when they take off.

Scientific Name

Zenaida macroura 

History

• They frequently blend in with their rural, open settings.
• With black patches on the wings and black-bordered white tips to the tail feathers, they have a delicate brown to the buffy-tan overall color. 

Physical Characteristic

Size & Weight

• The medium-sized, slender mourning dove measures about 12 inches in length.
• Typically closer to 128 g, it weighs between 11 and 170 g. 

Color

• With black patches on the wings and black-bordered white tips to the tail feathers, they have a delicate brown to the buffy-tan overall color.

Wingspan 

• Its wingspan ranges from 37 to 45 cm.
• The head is spherical, and the elliptical wings are wide.

Behavior

Sleeping Behavior

• They are active during the day.
• As a result, they rather than owls are more likely to be heard hooting during the day.

Feeding Behavior

• They mostly forage on the ground.
• However, they sometimes will perch on plants to take seeds. 

Mating Behavior

• They are monogamous.
• On a display perch, males engage in a variety of displays, including a courtship “coo”.

Flying Behavior

• Their flight is fast and bullet straight.
• It sits on telephone wires and searches the ground for seeds.
• Their wings emit a piercing whistling or whinnying sound when they take off.

Lifespan

• An adult Mourning Dove lives 1.5 years on average.
• Through bird banding studies, the oldest known free-living bird was found to be over 31 years old.
• This is the longest lifespan ever recorded for a land-dwelling bird in North America.

Food & Diet

• They particularly enjoy eating ragweed, wild grasses, and grains, however, they will occasionally consume larger seeds like sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and shelled peanuts.
• Check out the top bird feeders and seeds for cardinals.

Habitat & Range

• In temperate regions of North America, it can be found in practically any open or semi-open habitat, including woodland clearings, farmland, suburbs, prairies, and deserts.
• Although it can be found in certain treeless places, it may be most prevalent in edge habitats with both trees and open ground. ignores dense woodland.

Mourning Dove Nest

• A thin structure made of grass stalks, twigs, and pine needles that provides minimal insulation for the young.
• The male takes twigs to the female over two to four days, passing them to her while standing on her back.
• The female then weaves the twigs into a nest that is about eight inches across.

Mourning Dove Call

• The Coco-woo-woo call is known as a Mourning Dove Call.
• Not the female mourning dove, but almost often the male. Wait for it… a wooing call, an appeal to a lover or potential mate.
• These peculiar mourning dove sounds.

Reproduction

• The male begins an elaborate series of wooing rituals when females land close to him on his display perch.
• If a pair connection develops, the male and female hang together for a few days before commencing to construct a nest.
• Males start choosing a nest site after locating a mate.

Egg

• Two simple, white, unremarkable eggs are laid by a female adult mourning dove per clutch.
• For roughly 14 days, both parents incubate the eggs. Up to five or six newborn dove broods may be produced by the parents in a single season. 

Predators 

• They are eaten by hawks and owls. 

Population

• The most common and numerous game bird in North America is the mourning dove.
• Although hunters kill about 20 million doves a year, their population in the United States is thought to be 350 million, making them one of our most common birds.

Conservation & Threats

• The hawk, owl, and severe weather are the enemies of the dove.
• The wind during a storm might blow the nests out to the trees, harming the doves.
• They can also sustain damage from predators such as house cats, snakes, starlings, crows, squirrels, and blue jays. Dove or canker disease, a deadly condition, can affect birds of all ages.
• We can help them by building nesting baskets for them.

Fun Facts

• Sometimes you may hear a Mourning Dove take off because of its smooth wings’ piercing whistling or whining sound.
• There is a crucial argument as to why mourning doves can endure in the desert: they can drink brackish (or salt) water. Mourning Doves can tolerate water that contains roughly half as much salt as the ocean, but they cannot tolerate water that is as salty as the ocean.
• Make sure your bird seed contains peanuts if you want to draw Mourning Doves to your feeder.
• Mourning Doves frequently build their nests in areas close to houses, such as gutters, eaves, abandoned machinery, or beneath window shutters, as they are usually unconcerned by people.

Reference Link

https://g.co/kgs/4zRgSv

Mourning Dove-FAQ