Mourning doves.......................

The mourning dove: (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the turtle dove, American mourning dove or the rain dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon or Carolina Turtledove.^[2] It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds. It is also a leading gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and for meat. Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure is due to its prolific breeding; in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods of two young each in a single year. The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph).
Mourning doves are light grey and brown and generally muted in color. Males and females are similar in appearance. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) per brood. Both parents incubate and care for the young. Mourning doves eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents.

Taxonomy

The mourning dove is closely related to the eared dove (Zenaida auriculata) and the Socorro dove (Zenaida graysoni). Some authorities describe them as forming a superspecies and these three birds are sometimes classified in the separate genus Zenaidura,^[4] but the current classification has them as separate species in the genus Zenaida. In addition, the Socorro dove has at times been considered conspecific with the mourning dove, although several differences in behavior, call, and appearance justify separation as two different species.While the three species do form a subgroup of Zenaida, using a separate genus would interfere with the monophyly of Zenaida by making it paraphyletic
There are five subspecies of mourning dove:

• Eastern Z. m. carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
• Clarion Island Z. m. clarionensis (C.H.Townsend, 1890)
• West Indian Z. m. macroura (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Western Z. m. marginella (Woodhouse, 1852)
• Panama Z. m. turturilla Wetmore, 1956

The ranges of most of the subspecies overlap a little, with three in the United States or Canada.The West Indian subspecies is found throughout the Greater Antilles. It has recently invaded the Florida Keys. The eastern subspecies is found mainly in eastern North America, as well as Bermuda and the Bahamas. The western subspecies is found in western North America, including parts of Mexico. The Panamanian subspecies is located in Central America. The Clarion Island subspecies is found only on Clarion Island, just off the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The mourning dove is sometimes called the "American mourning dove" to distinguish it from the distantly related mourning collared dove (Streptopelia decipiens) of Africa. It was also formerly known as the "Carolina turtledove" and the "Carolina pigeon". The genus name was bestowed in 1838 by French zoologist Charles L. Bonaparte in honor of his wife, Princess Zénaide, and macroura is from Ancient Greek makros, "long" and oura, "tail". The "mourning" part of its common name comes from its call
The mourning dove was thought to be the passenger pigeon's closest living relative, based on morphological grounds.^[11][12] The mourning dove was even suggested to belong to the same genus, Ectopistes, and was listed by some authors as E. carolinensis.^[13]

Distribution

 

The mourning dove has a large range of nearly 11,000,000 km² (4,200,000 sq mi The species is resident throughout the Greater Antilles, most of Mexico, the Continental United States, southern Canada, and the Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda. Much of the Canadian prairie sees these birds in summer only, and southern Central America sees them in winter only. The species is a vagrant in northern Canada, Alaska, and South America It has been spotted as an accidental at least seven times in the Western Palearctic with records from the British Isles (5), the Azores (1) and Iceland (1).^[6] In 1963, the mourning dove was introduced to Hawaii, and in 1998 there was still a small population in North Kona.^[17] The mourning dove also appeared on Socorro Island, off the western coast of Mexico, in 1988, sixteen years after the Socorro dove was extirpated from that island. Description

Play media

In California

In Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The mourning dove is a medium-sized, slender dove approximately 31 cm (12 in) in length. Mourning doves weigh 112–170 g (4.0–6.0 oz), usually closer to 128 g (4.5 oz).^[18] The elliptical wings are broad, and the head is rounded. Its tail is long and tapered ("macroura" comes from the Greek words for "large" and "tail"^[19]). Mourning doves have perching feet, with three toes forward and one reversed. The legs are short and reddish colored. The beak is short and dark, usually a brown-black hue.^[6]
The plumage is generally light gray-brown and lighter and pinkish below. The wings have black spotting, and the outer tail feathers are white, contrasting with the black inners. Below the eye is a distinctive crescent-shaped area of dark feathers. The eyes are dark, with light skin surrounding them.^[6] The adult male has bright purple-pink patches on the neck sides, with light pink coloring reaching the breast. The crown of the adult male is a distinctly bluish-grey color. Females are similar in appearance, but with more brown coloring overall and a little smaller than the male. The iridescent feather patches on the neck above the shoulders are nearly absent, but can be quite vivid on males. Juvenile birds have a scaly appearance, and are generally darker. All five subspecies of the mourning dove look similar and are not easily distinguishable The nominate subspecies possesses shorter wings, and is darker and more buff-colored than the "average" mourning dove. Z. m. carolinensis has longer wings and toes, a shorter beak, and is darker in color. The western subspecies has longer wings, a longer beak, shorter toes, and is more muted and lighter in color. The Panama mourning dove has shorter wings and legs, a longer beak, and is grayer in color. The Clarion Island subspecies possesses larger feet, a larger beak, and is darker brown in color. Habitat
The mourning dove occupies a wide variety of open and semi-open habitats, such as The species has adapted well to areas altered by humans. They commonly nest in trees in cities or near farmsteads.

Adult and squabs in cactus-protected nest, High Desert (California)

Migration

Most mourning doves migrate along flyways over land. On rare occasions, mourning doves have been seen flying over the Gulf of Mexico, but this is exceptional. Spring migration north runs from March to May. Fall migration south runs from September to November, with immatures moving first, followed by adult females and then by adult males. Migration is usually during the day, in flocks, and at low altitudes. However, not all individuals migrate. Even in Canada some mourning doves remain through winter, sustained by the presence of bird feeders.

Sounds

This species' call is a distinctive, plaintive cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo, uttered by males to attract females, and may be mistaken for the call of an owl at first. (Close up, a grating or throat-rattling sound may be heard preceding the first coo.) Other sounds include a nest call (cooOOoo) by paired males to attract their mates to the nest sites, a greeting call (a soft ork) by males upon rejoining their mates, and an alarm call (a short roo-oo) by either male or female when threatened. In flight, the wings make a fluttery whistling sound that is hard to hear. The wing whistle is much louder and more noticeable upon take-off and landing

Reproduction

Adult

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

Courtship begins with a noisy flight by the male, followed by a graceful, circular glide with outstretched wings and head down. After landing, the male will approach the female with a puffed-out breast, bobbing head, and loud calls. Mated pairs will often preen each other's feathers  

The male then leads the female to potential nest sites, and the female will choose one. The female dove builds the nest. The male will fly about, gather material, and bring it to her. The male will stand on the female's back and give the material to the female, who then builds it into the nest The nest is constructed of twigs, conifer needles, or grass blades, and is of flimsy construction.^[7] Mourning doves will sometimes requisition the unused nests of other mourning doves, other birds, or arboreal mammals such as squirrels

Most nests are in trees, both deciduous and coniferous. Sometimes, they can be found in shrubs, vines, or on artificial constructs like buildings,^[7] or hanging flower pots When there is no suitable elevated object, mourning doves will nest on the ground.

See link below for: courtship dance and mating.

The clutch size is almost always two eggs.^[20] Occasionally, however, a female will lay her eggs in the nest of another pair, leading to three or four eggs in the nest.^[22] The eggs are white, 6.6 ml (0.23 imp fl oz; 0.22 US fl oz), 2.57–2.96 cm (1.01–1.17 in) long, 2.06–2.30 cm (0.81–0.91 in) wide, 6–7 g (0.21–0.25 oz) at laying (5–6% of female body mass). Both sexes incubate, the male from morning to afternoon, and the female the rest of the day and at night. Mourning doves are devoted parents; nests are very rarely left unattended by the adults.^[20] When flushed from the nest, an incubating parent may perform a nest-distraction display, or a broken-wing display, fluttering on the ground as if injured, then flying away when the predator approaches it

I already knew, and maybe you did too, that mourning doves will sometimes hang around our cold, snowy Northeast winters rather than migrate, if there is food—that is, if we keep our birdfeeders stocked. My thoughts turned to this as I watched from the window as a pair of them scooped up some spillage off the ground below one of our backyard feeders. They’re still here, and I resolved to help them stay around, to keep it full. Though most people think their cooing call sounds sad, I actually find the sound of it somehow comforting.

Here are some things that I didn’t know about these very familiar birds, which may enhance your appreciation of them, too.

Mourning doves have fairly neutral coloration that allows them to blend in almost anywhere. Photo by Roland Jordahl/Birds & Blooms.

1- When they grab seeds off the ground, they are not necessarily eating them. Instead, they are stockpiling for digesting later. The seeds collect in the “crop,” which is simply an enlarged part of their esophagus.

2- They are primarily seed-eaters, not insect-eaters. They can and do eat weed seeds, which is certainly valuable to gardeners as well as farmers, or anyone living near overgrown vacant lots. (They do like corn, though.)

3- The cooooOOOOO-woo-woo-woo call is almost always uttered by the male bird, not the female, and is—wait for it—a wooing call, an enticement to a mate or potential mate.

4- When they sleep, their head rests between their shoulders, close to the body (they do not tuck their little heads under their shoulder feathers, like a lot of other birds do).

5- Their long, pointed wings are almost falcon-like in appearance, while their pointed tails are longer than those of any other doves. These “design features” enable the birds to fly fast. Mourning doves have been clocked at 55 mph!

6- When they lay eggs, it is almost always just two. (Singletons are rare, as are bigger clutches.) Incubation takes just two weeks.

7- Males and females work together to feed their new babies something called “crop milk” or “pigeon milk” for the first few days of their life. Rich in protein and fat, it resembles cottage cheese, is secreted by the adults’ crop lining, and is regurgitated to the little ones. Weaning is fast, though—by the fourth day of life, the diet starts to segue to seeds, and by two weeks, the youngsters are nearly fledged.

8- Mourning doves are considered closely related to the late, lamented passenger pigeons.

9- These doves are still hunted in many areas. However, I haven’t read any concerns about population decline.

10- Pairs tend to mate for life. Another name for them is “turtle doves.” So, small wonder that the author of the favorite Christmas song kept them as a pair. (Besides, “a mourning dove in a pear tree” just doesn’t sound right!)

Sunsets don't get much better than this one over @GrandTetonNPS. #nature #sunset pic.twitter.com/YuKy2rcjyU

— US Dept of Interior (@Interior) May 5, 2014

Sunsets don't get much better than this one over @GrandTetonNPS. #nature #sunset pic.twitter.com/YuKy2rcjyU

— US Dept of Interior (@Interior) May 5, 2014