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Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

Grey-brown mourning dove perched, with a long pointed tail
Photo: Rhododendrites — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A slim, soft grey-brown dove with a long pointed tail and a gentle, mournful coo.

RegionNorth AmericaSizeMediumColourGreyHabitatGardens

How to spot it

A slender, soft grey-brown dove about 30 cm long with a small head, black spots on the wings and a long, tapered, white-edged tail. The wings clap and whistle as it bursts into flight.

Where it lives

One of North America's most abundant and widespread birds, in farmland, open country, gardens and towns from Canada to Mexico.

What it eats

Almost entirely seeds, gathered from the ground, which it stores in its crop to digest later at a safe perch.

Song & behaviour

A soft, drawn-out, mournful "coo-oo, coo, coo, coo" that many people mistake for an owl. It often perches on wires and feeds quietly in pairs or small groups.

Nesting

It builds a flimsy platform of twigs, lays two white eggs, and can raise brood after brood through a long breeding season.

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