Mourning Dove

Light grey-brown upperparts with black spots on the wings. Underparts are a paler greyish-pink or buff. Males have a pinkish-purple iridescence on the sides of the neck with bright blue eye-rings. Females are duller and browner with less iridescence. Juveniles are similar to females but often have pale scaling or fringes on their feathers.

Long, pointed tail with white outer tail feathers that flash during flight, small head, black spots on the wings, and a dark spot below and behind the eye.

Length: 22-31 cm (8.7-12.2 in), Wingspan: 37-45 cm (14.6-17.7 in), Weight: 86-170 g (3.0-6.0 oz)

A soft, plaintive, and resonant series of cooing notes (coo-oo, oo, oo, oo) that is often mistaken for the hoot of an owl.

Primarily granivorous, eating almost exclusively seeds from weeds, grasses, cultivated grains, and herbs. They also occasionally ingest small snails or grit to aid digestion.

Open country, scattered trees, scrub, grasslands, deserts, and heavily human-modified environments such as farms, suburbs, and city parks.

Partial migrant. Northern populations migrate southward for winter, while southern populations are permanent year-round residents.

Builds a flimsy platform nest of twigs in trees, shrubs, or sometimes on artificial structures and the ground. Clutch size is almost always two white eggs. Breeds multiple times a year, with both parents incubating the eggs and feeding the young 'crop milk'.

Eurasian Collared-Dove (larger, square tail, black neck collar), White-winged Dove (white wing patches, square tail), and Passenger Pigeon (extinct, larger with a longer, more wedge-shaped tail).

Acts as an important seed disperser for various grasses and weeds, and serves as a major prey species for many raptors and mammalian carnivores.

Least Concern, with a very large and stable population.

Look for them perched on telephone wires, fences, or foraging on the ground in open areas, lawns, and suburban yards. They are regular visitors to backyard bird feeders offering mixed seeds.

Mourning Doves are one of the most widely distributed and hunted game birds in North America. They can fly at speeds up to 55 mph (88 km/h) and need to drink water daily, often doing so by sucking up water rather than sipping and tilting their head back like most birds.