Mourning dove

The mourning dove is a common and widespread bird in North America.

It is a medium-sized, slender bird that belongs to the dove family, Columbidae. These birds are often seen in open areas like farms, grasslands, and even cities. They tend to avoid thick forests or swampy places. Many people know them by their sad, plaintive call. This sound is what gives them their name.

Because they are so good at breeding, they stay very common. In warm areas, one pair can raise up to six groups of young in a single year.

Life for a mourning dove follows a steady pattern. Most adults are monogamous, which means they stay with one partner. Both parents work together to sit on the eggs and care for the young.

When the babies, called squabs, are born, the parents feed them something special. This is called crop milk, which is a liquid made in the parents' bodies. While the adults mostly eat seeds, they provide this milk to help the young grow. This way of feeding helps the next generation stay strong.

Scientists have spent a long time studying these birds to name them correctly.

In 1731, Mark Catesby described them in a book about the natural history of the islands. Later, in 1743, George Edwards drew pictures of them from live birds. In 1758, the famous naturalist Carl Linnaeus worked to organize their names in his book, Systema Naturae. There was some confusion for a long time between mourning doves and passenger pigeons. In 1955, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature helped settle the names we use today. The name Zenaida comes from a French naturalist named Charles Lucien Bonaparte.

There are many interesting facts about how a mourning dove looks and acts.

They have light gray and brown feathers with black spots on their wings. Males have bright purple-pink patches on the sides of their necks. Their wings are broad and make a whistling sound when they take off. This sound is a type of sonation, which is a sound made by body parts. Some doves even clap their wings together during flight. They are strong fliers that can move across huge distances during migration.

Moving from place to place is a big part of their lives.

Many birds in Canada fly south to Mexico during the fall. They usually travel in flocks during the daytime at low altitudes. In the spring, they fly back north between March and May. You can find different types, or subspecies, in different places. For example, some live in the West, while others live in the East or in the Caribbean. This helps the mourning dove live in many different kinds of homes.