A Dive Into Doves

Gain a new appreciation for the often overlooked mourning dove.

1822

In 1822, French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte and his wife, Zenaide, came to America so he could study new birds. He called a West Indies bird the zenaida dove; it became the name of the genus to which mourning doves belong. The common name comes from the bird’s soft, sad-sounding coos and calls.

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Each mourning dove brood consists of two eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the offspring. One pair may have up to six broods in a year. Mourning doves belong to one of three families of birds that produce “milk,” an antioxidant-rich liquid secreted in their throats, to feed their young. Both males and females produce the fluid.

350

Mourning doves are a popular game bird in North America—hunters kill approximately 20 million of them each year. The bird is also one of most widespread species found in the United States, with a population of about 350 million.

99

Seeds are a huge staple in a mourning dove’s diet, accounting for 99 percent of what it eats. On the menu are grass and weed seeds, cracked corn, millet and sunflower seeds.

4

It takes two to four days for a pair to build a nest. The male finds and brings twigs to the female, and she does the bulk of the construction.