Mourning dove

Mourning doves feed on the ground on seeds and store them in the crop, a pouch in the throat, before flying off to digest them. They can drink by sucking water up without lifting their heads, unlike most birds.

Pairs nest repeatedly from spring through autumn, and both parents feed their young on crop milk.

The mourning dove is one of the most abundant birds in North America, and it eats huge quantities of weed seeds. It is prey for hawks, falcons and many other animals, and its many broods a year let it sustain those losses.

Nest — A flimsy platform of twigs, sometimes so thin the eggs show through
Eggs — Usually two
Incubation — About 14 days, shared by both parents
Nestlings — Fed crop milk; leave the nest at about 12 to 15 days
After leaving — Fed by the parents for another week or two on the ground
Broods — Up to five or six in a year in the South
Lifespan — Most live about a year; a few much longer

• Mourning doves nest in hanging planters, gutters and porch lights; the whole cycle takes about a month, and leaving it be is the kindest thing.
• Young doves out of the nest look fully feathered but have short tails; they are fledglings being fed by their parents on the ground.
• Keeping cats indoors saves many ground-feeding doves.

• A fully feathered young dove on the ground has fallen and needs help. Fledgling doves leave the nest before they fly well and are fed by their parents nearby.
• The coo at dawn is an owl. It is the mourning dove, often heard before sunrise.
• Doves mate for life and grieve. Pairs often stay together for a season or longer, but the story of lifelong grief is sentiment.

• Eurasian collared-dove
• Common ground dove
• White-winged dove
• Rock pigeon