Name: Mourning Dove

Description: The most abundant dove in the United States, the Mourning Dove's name comes from the familiar, though often overlooked, song: a low-toned, moaning “cooah, coo, coo, coo.” The Mourning Dove, found across the United States and southern Canada, is most common throughout the Great Plains and the Midwest.

Other Names: American Mourning Dove (also formerly known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove)

Color: Mourning Doves are light gray, brownish and generally muted in color. This long, slim, gray-brown bird has a small head and a long, pointed tail. The outer tail feathers have white tips with black marking midway, so that the tail is edged with a black-and-white stripe. Wings are spotted with black. The Mourning Dove's crown, nape and hind neck are slate colored, turning to grayish-brown over the rest of the upper parts. The face is pinkish-buff, the under parts have a pinkish wash, and the belly is buff-colored. Legs are red and the eye has a bluish ring of bare skin with a small black spot and a larger iridescent purplish area on the side of the neck. (This area is larger in males.) Genders are similar, but males are slightly larger and more colorful, with a bluish crown and pink chest. Females have browner coloring overall.

Sound: The Mourning Dove’s song is a plaintive “cooh, woo-woo-woo.” In flight, the bird’s wings make a fluttery whistling sound.

Preferred Environment: The Mourning Dove's habitat includes various open and semi-open environments, including agricultural and urban areas, open woods, deserts, forest edges, cities and suburbs. The Mourning Dove has adapted well to areas altered by humans.

Nesting Habits: During nest-building, the female Mourning Dove stays at the nest while the male collects sticks. He stands on her back to give her the nest material and she takes it and weaves it into the nest. The nest is usually a flimsy platform of twigs, pine needles or grass stems. The Mourning Dove has been known to nest in trees, tangles of shrubs or vines up to 50 feet, and sometimes in hanging flower pots or other man-made structures.

Food Preference: The Mourning Dove feeds on cracked corn and millet.