FEBRUARY I MARCH 2021 birdsandblooms.com 11
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A Calming
Backyard Call
ourning doves are
found throughout
much of North
America, but there
is nothing common about these
graceful birds. Many passionate
backyard birders find the soft,
distinctive cooing of this dove to
be calming and utterly peaceful.
“The birds vocalize quite a lot
and that’s where they get their
name, because of their mournful
call,” says John Rowden, who is
the senior director of bird-friendly
communities at the National
Audubon Society.
Muted Markings
Both male and female mourning
doves are known for their brown
and gray coloring, black spots,
small heads and slender tails.
“They have that really amazing
mix of muted tones, with beautiful
defined black spots on their wings.
You can sort of see an iridescence,”
John says.
Mourning doves are sometimes
confused with Eurasian collared
doves or white-winged doves. If a
thick black band is present on the
collar, it’s a collared dove. You can
tell white-winged doves apart by
their namesake white wing stripe.
Wide Range
Mourning doves are commonly
found in southern Canada, the
contiguous United States and
northern Mexico. You can spot
them nearly any where—in cities,
M
THE FEED
backyards and even the middle
of the Mojave Desert.
They are mainly attracted to
open spaces, only avoiding areas
with deep forests. “Wherever you
are, you might have a mourning
dove in your area,” John says. He
adds that very few species are so
common both geographically and
seasonally. It’s estimated that
there are more than 100 million
mourning doves, but they are
commonly hunted as a game bird
and are easy prey for outdoor cats,
which affects their population.
Enthusiastic Foragers
These doves evolved specifically for
ground foraging, eating up to 20%
of their body weight in seeds daily.
They use their crop, which is an
outgrowth of their esophagus, to
stash food before heading to a
secluded perch for digestion.
Mourning doves often have a
noticeably round breast, since it
expands during feeding. Scientists
once found a record-holding bird
with 17,200 bluegrass seeds stuffed
away in its crop.
Attract Them
To encourage the gorgeous doves
to visit your yard, install an open
platform feeder or scatter seeds
across the ground. Wild grasses,
grains and ragweed are a few of
their favorite foods, though they
will eat larger seeds, including
sunflower seeds, and shelled
peanuts in a pinch.
LOVEY-DOVEY
It’s fairly common to
see two mourning doves
cuddling with each
other. Mating pairs are
monogamous and often
stay together for life.
GOT MILK?
While mourning doves
are raising young, they
feed them a secretion from
the lining of their crop
called pigeon milk.
The mourning dove holds a special place in
a birder’s heart, and ears. BY KELSEY ROSETH
I find mourning
doves to be such
beautiful, peaceful
creatures. This
heavenly light
accentuated the
bird’s graceful
features.”
Patricia Welch
SALEM, CONNECTICUT