All about Mourning Doves!
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Of all our backyard birds, perhaps one of the most familiar is the Mourning Dove. But how much do we really know about this sometimes under-appreciated bird?
Mourning Doves are one of twelve doves that can be found in the U.S. And besides the Rock Dove, or common city pigeon, they are the most widespread. So, wherever you live, chances are you have Mourning Doves in your area.
Mourning Doves are interesting for a variety of reasons. One interesting fact is that their wings make a whistling sound when they take off in flight. It actually sounds like the bird is chirping, but it’s not. The sound is used as a warning to other birds that the bird was startled into flight. The Mourning Dove’s call is a mournful whoo-ah whoo-whoo-whoo that gives the bird its name and they often call at dawn.
Mourning Doves make a messy, open nest, usually in the crotch of a tree. Over the course of the breeding season, they can hatch as many as 6 broods of two eggs each. And they’ll use the same nest the whole season. So if you have nesting mourning doves nearby, you’ll be able to watch nestlings all season long. However, don’t get too close to the nesting site. If startled, the dove’s explosive take-off is enough to knock the eggs out of the loosely constructed nest.
Another interesting fact about doves and pigeons is that instead of feeding their young insects, they feed the babies “crop milk” instead. It’s not really milk, but ground up seeds they create in their crop. To feed, the babies stick their heads down the parent’s throat! Dove eggs are incubated continuously, day and night. The male bird takes the “day shift” and the female takes the “night shift”.
A good reason to love Mourning Doves is because they eat vast amounts of weed seeds, making them very valuable in keeping down excess vegetation around our yards. Because their bill isn’t designed to crack open large shells, they prefer the softer seeds of weeds and grasses. But they can still eat hard-shelled seeds which they swallow whole and grind up in their gizzards.
The Mourning Dove prefers to eat from the ground, and like many ground-feeding birds, their favorite foods are millet and cracked corn, but they will certainly accept a mix that has millet and corn in it. Doves are most comfortable on a ground feeder and water can be provided in a ground bird bath. But this also makes them vulnerable to predators—especially house cats. If house cats are a problem, you may want to encircle the area around the feeder and bath with fencing high enough that a cat won’t jump over.
The Mourning Dove is a gentle bird that gets along with other birds at the feeder. They’re lovely to look at and lovely to listen to—a welcome addition to anyone’s backyard. One of our longtime customers, who lives in a NYC apartment, is an avid feeder of Mourning Doves on his terrace -- and he mentions the pleasure of listening to them while he works at home.
Special thanks to reader Peter Corbett for sending in these interesting Mourning Dove images.
--Roxanne Brune
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Duncraft, Inc. 102 Fisherville Road Concord NH 03303
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- Posted at Friday, June 12, 2009 01:24 PM
- In Wild Bird Feeding Category | Permalink
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My mother is particularly fond of these doves. We call them "fancy worry-birds", because they are always so nervous looking!
Posted by Jonelle on Friday, June 19, 2009 10:58 AM
I've had a pair of doves coming to my ground feeder for the past 7 years I'm sure their the same ones because the nest in the same place each year.I feed them safflower seed now I have 10 to 16 doves feeding every day. I believe they are the offspring of the original pair. So keep feeding them and they will keep coming back.
Posted by Fred on Friday, June 19, 2009 07:31 PM
I just love this gentle birds! When I lived in Vegas they along with pigeons were the only thing I could get in my backyard. I so welcomed them & made sure they had all their favorite foods & a small pond so they could tell their friends! ~*wink*~
There is nothing more pretty sounding than the cooing of doves when you wake in the morning...
Posted by Ginger on Saturday, June 20, 2009 07:25 AM
I have several pairs of Mourning Doves in my wooded lot. I have a feeder mounted to the deck along with a birdbath. The doves are great cleaner-uppers of all the seed Blue Jays and other birds toss on to the deck. They enjoy the birdbath because they can literally step on to it and drink or bathe. They are interesting and welcome birds.
Posted by Dave on Saturday, June 20, 2009 10:28 AM
I have a pair of adult doves that come here to feed every morning and evening. I love to sit and watch them feed. I have a screened in front porch where I can sit and watch all the birds eat, drink, and take baths. I also have two sets of young doves that eat, a few times they eat with the elder pair--maybe they are their offspring. Anyway I really enjoy hearing them early in the morning and during the day. I feed them safflower seed on a ground feeder and they eat the unwanted seed from the other feeders that are pushed out on the ground. They are beautiful birds.
Posted by Helen on Saturday, June 20, 2009 07:30 PM
I have a question about Mourning Doves I'm hoping someone here can answer. There's a pair of them nesting in a lilac bush next to my garage. They seemed happy and took turns in the nest. Four days ago, they began sharing the nest so they were both in it at the same time. Then yesterday, I startled one by accident, which was odd because I was several feet away working in the garden and neither one had been startled like that before. Since then, the nest has been vacant. Because of its location, I can't tell if there were eggs. It doesn't look like there are eggs now nor signs of fledglings but I don't want to get too close in case the doves are nearby and still using it. Do you think something happened to the eggs and now they've abandoned the nest? Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted by Julie on Thursday, June 25, 2009 01:07 PM
I have a mourning dove nesting on a window sill.There are two eggs in the nest, but they have been sitting on them for about four weeks. How long does it usually take for the eggs to hatch?
Posted by dianne hickling on Monday, July 13, 2009 07:50 AM
Who can help me to find a wife for my mourning dove??
I live in Acton, CA 93510. This baby dove came to us 1 month ago, landed on my shoulder. We fed him for 3 days then let him out, he stayed on the branch for 30 minutes then took off, we thought that was the happy ending.
My wife & I walked to the back yard, all of a sudden he came back & landed next to us.
We let him out free, he comes back all the time.
We keep him in the laundry room, every time my wife washes her hair, he stays on her back, then to the shoulder. What a joy. We took the photos of the dove on top her head, while she sprinkle the water up for him as shower.It is amazing and fun.
Best Regards
Tsai
Posted by Tsai on Sunday, July 19, 2009 07:39 PM
That is the sweetest bird ever!
Posted by annabeth c. on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 07:22 PM
I just love seeing the beautiful creatures flying gracfully through the air...and then hearing the sound of a benneli 12 gauge and seeing them hit the ground..
Posted by Joe garmon on Friday, November 6, 2009 01:02 PM
I just love dovesssss:)
Posted by Dylan armstrong on Friday, November 6, 2009 01:13 PM
The doves visiting our feeders leave behind elliptical-shaped pellets of plant material, perhaps regurgitated as is crop milk when nesting, but it's not nesting season. Any ideas about these "pellets?"
Posted by Annie on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 09:48 AM
I don't know what they sound like.
Posted by no on Saturday, January 30, 2010 12:09 PM
my friend has mourning doves nesting in her garage and this information is very helpful.
Posted by liz on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 03:44 PM
I have a dove that chose to make a nest on top of a bird cage I keep on my front porch to put my parrots in to get sunhine and fresh air. It does not seem to worry about anything. I have four dogs that run in and out barking and she doesnt spook at anything. Her nest is made in one of my dogs bowl....... She doesnt mind me or my husband either.
Posted by Clarene Handy on Friday, April 2, 2010 01:23 PM
What is the gestation period for the eggs to hath?
Posted by Clarene Handy on Friday, April 2, 2010 01:25 PM
i have a mourning dove in a tree in front of my house it has two eggs but im wondering how long it will take for them to hatch they have been their for at least 2 weeks i think it ia a single parent b/c i have never seen a another bird next to it(i check on it at least 1 a day after school or at night)so i don't think the eggs will hatch
Posted by navin on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 04:09 PM
I love morning doves. I saw them on
ground alway a pair together.
Posted by Maggie on Thursday, June 10, 2010 03:11 PM
We have had a dove nesting in our tree & the eggs have hatched & you can see the babies heads & tails, but I am worried as it appears the Mother has abandoned her young, as normally you can see her with them quiet a few times a day, but today it appears she has not been to the nest, & now night fall & she still has not returned, do they leave their young this long normally & can they abandon them.
Posted by Pheobe on Monday, August 2, 2010 04:14 PM
I would think the mother would only abandon the babies if something happened to her. Unfortunately the babies have to be fed "pigeon milk" that the mother makes, about every 2 hours, so they may not make it without that.
Posted by Roxanne Brune--Duncraft on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 07:57 AM