![]() Mourning Doves usually build their nests in trees but will nest in shrubs or even on the ground if they have to. Mourning Doves don’t usually stay in swampy areas, dense forests, or in the far North. However, this species has adapted well to living near humans. They need trees around their habitat for protection and nesting. Mourning Doves live in many open or semi-open habitats including suburban yards, city parks, roadsides, agricultural fields, grasslands, and lightly wooded areas. Juveniles also have an interesting pattern on their wings that look like a group of fish scales. Juvenile Mourning Doves have more dark spots on their wings than the adult birds do. The male has a bluish-gray area on the crown (top of his head). However, when a male and female are next to each other, you can see that the male’s chest and throat area have a light pinkish tone whereas the female’s throat and chest are light brown or tan. ![]() Males and females look pretty much the same. They have slender bodies with small heads, black spots on their wings, and have long, fan-shaped, and pointed tails that have white outer-tail feathers. These two colors blend into the open-country habitats where Mourning Doves frequently live. Mourning Doves are mostly light-brown or light-gray in color. This is called a nest-distraction display. Then, hopefully the predator will focus on the adult Mourning Dove and forget about the eggs or young birds in the nest. When a predator comes too close to the nest, sometimes Mourning Dove parents will fly away from their nest and pretend they are injured on the ground. ![]() Mourning Doves will usually fly away when disturbed or frightened but occasionally they use body displays, such as fanning their tails, to try to scare off intruders that come near. Migrating Mourning Doves can fly thousands of miles to get to their winter resting areas! It usually flutters at first when it first takes off to fly but once in the air, it soars gracefully and is quite fast. The Mourning Dove is a very strong flier. In Fall, many Mourning Doves that had nested in the North begin to migrate south in flocks. You can find Mourning Doves throughout the United States, southern Canada, some parts of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and further south into Central America. ![]()
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