Mourning dove

Mourning dove
Temporal range: Pleistocene–present
In Prospect Park, New York, USA
Mourning Dove vocalizations
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Zenaida
Species:
Z. macroura
Binomial name
Zenaida macroura
Subspecies

See text

Approximate distribution map
  Breeding
  Year-round
  Nonbreeding
  Introduced
Synonyms
  • Columba macroura Linnaeus, 1758
  • Columba carolinensis Linnaeus, 1766
  • Ectopistes carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)

The mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, the chueybird, colloquially as the turtle dove, and it was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carolina turtledove.[2] It is one of the most abundant and widespread North American birds and a popular gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and meat. Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure is due to its prolific breeding; in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods of two young each in a single year. The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph).[3]

Mourning doves are light gray and brown and generally muted in color. Males and females are similar in appearance. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) per brood. Both parents incubate and care for the young. Mourning doves eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Zenaida macroura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22690736A95215602. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22690736A95215602.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Torres, J.K. (1982) The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, p. 730, ISBN 0517032880
  3. ^ Bastin, E. W. (1952). "Flight-speed of the Mourning Dove". Wilson Bulletin. 64 (1): 47.