MOURNING DOVE

The mourning dove is North America’s most common dove.
Like its cousin the pigeon, it has wonderfully adapted to the spread of civilization.
This species makes its home wherever there is a mix of trees, shrubs and open ground.

Pictured above is our Very Own "Gilgo Rose", a female dove minding her nest, 5/01/07, Cottage Way, Gilgo Beach.

The suburbs seem to be ideal for Mourning Doves who feed almost exclusively on the ground eating weed seeds, grass seeds and spilled grain.
They usually feed in flocks and they are a common sight under a bird feeder gobbling up the seeds spread over by other birds.

Mourning Doves will also eat small fruits and berries.
They are the only birds that can drink without lifting their heads to let the water run down their throats.

The flight of the Mourning Dove is swift and direct. They do not coast or soar and the whistling sound of their wings is diagnostic for bird watchers. The Mourning Dove derives its name from its call, which is a low mournful coo-ah, coo, coo, coo. Its species name, Macroura, means “long-tailed” in Greek.

Ranging from 10 1/2 to 13 inches long the Mourning Dove has a slimmer body and longer tail than other doves.
Its body is a soft, sandy buff color with white bordering its tapered tail.
Its wings are a darker color and have black spots on the top of them.

The Mourning Dove’s nest is usually built on a horizontal evergreen bough but any low bush or shelf will suffice.
The nest itself is little more that a few twigs and sticks loosely placed. These doves don’t bother with lining or padding the nest.

Usually the nest contains two white eggs. Both male and female Mourning Doves incubate the eggs and they generally rear two broods each year.

The nestlings are fed “pigeon milk” which is a glandular secretion, looking like cottage cheese,
that is produced in the parents’ crops and unique to the dove family.

PLEASE!
Preserve and Protect our Beaches.

Thanks to  Sallie Phillips , 1 / 1998

Thanks to Tom Grey for the bottom close up photo

@ 2007 Save the Beaches Fund, Inc.

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