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Mourning Dove

Zenaida macrouraOrder: COLUMBIFORMESFamily: Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)
Mourning Dove Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye color: Brown iris
  • Head Pattern: Plain, Eyering (complete or broken), Special (unique patterns or features)
  • Crown color: Buff
  • Forehead color: Pink
  • Nape Color: Pinkish-brown
  • Throat color: Pink
  • Cere color:
Splitbar
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Mourning Dove Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 30 cm (12 in)
  • Weight: 121 g (4.3 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: Pink, Brown, Black, Gray, Buff
  • Underparts: Pink-brown
  • Upperparts: Gray-brown with black spots on wings.
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Mourning Dove Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Swift strong direct flight.
  • Wingspan Range: 43-48 cm (17-19 in)
  • Wing Shape: Rounded-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Gray-brown with white tipped outer feathers.
  • Under Tail: Gray-brown
  • Leg color: Orange
.

Copyright © 2005 WBFI Research Foundation Bird database and its related content and media is Copyright (C) 2002 - 2005 Mitch Waite Group All rights reserved.

Family Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)_blue
Species Zenaida macroura
Length12 Inches
Wingspan18 Inches

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove: Medium-sized dove with gray-brown upperparts and pink-brown underparts. Eyes are dark with a small, black spot beneath. Bill is dark. Wings are gray-brown with black spots and dark primaries. Tail is long and pointed with black-edged white tips on outer feathers. Swift direct flight.

● Song: "coo-ah, coo-coo-coo"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mourning Dove: Eats seeds, waste grain, fruits, and insects. Usually forages on the ground, but occasionally in trees and shrubs.

● Breeding & nesting: Mourning Dove: Two white eggs are laid in a loosely made nest made of sticks and twigs built in a low bush or tree, or sometimes on the ground. Eggs are incubated for 14 days by both parents.

● Similar species: Mourning Dove: Eurasian-collared Dove has a long, rounded neck and a black collar. White-winged Dove has large white wing patches and shorter, squared tail.

Flight Pattern

Swift strong direct flight.
Mourning Dove Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Mourning Dove: Breeds from southeastern Alaska, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick southward to Mexico and Panama. Spends winters north to the northern U.S. Favorite habitats include open fields, parks, and lawns with many trees and shrubs.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationIncreasing
MigrationSome migrate
Weight4.3 Ounces