Thursday, February 10, 2011

Aerie Fowl: Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove is another large bodied bird that comes to the feeders. Their subtle shades of tans and grays accented with black and white, make them a welcome guest. Their copious "deposits" and sloppy feeding habits are marks against them!

The male and female are identical in size and coloration, but come spring it's easy to tell one from the other as the males start chasing the females around the lawn. And they've got more than just billing and cooing on their minds! During the winter they are pretty silent but the gentle, plaintive "whoooo, whoooo" during the spring and summer are often mistaken by the novice for an owl.

The Mourning Dove is a year-round resident that forms pairs for mating, but will flock together to go to a food, water, or dust/grit source. We've had as may as two dozen at a time on the deck, on the ground and on the electric wires.

Mourning Dove on the deck tray feeder.

1 comment:

Lynn Carlson said...

Hi, Don't you just love the sound that the morning dove make? It is so soothing. Unlike other birds that seem like they are mad and just go on forever with a high loud annoying sound, the morning doves song just stays the same. It is so beautiful.