Birds › Backyard › Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

Doves can drink by sucking water up, without tipping their heads back like most birds.

In your real yard: Millet and sunflower seed scattered on the ground or on a low platform.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the Backyard habitat (Eastern North America).

Mourning Dove facts

Family

Pigeons and doves

Length

11 in (28 cm)

Wingspan

18 in (45 cm)

Weight

4.5 oz (128 g)

Diet

Almost only seeds, picked up from the ground.

Range

Across the United States, southern Canada and Mexico, into Central America.

Nest

A flimsy platform of twigs on a branch, gutter or ledge.

Song

A soft, sad "coo-OO-oo, woo, woo, woo"; its wings whistle on takeoff.

Active

at dawn, by day and at dusk

Status

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the Mourning Dove sounds like

How to attract the Mourning Dove

Feeder foods, favorite first: millet, sunflower seed. Feeders that hold them: tube feeder and platform feeder. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with millet and sunflower seed and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

More: bird songs and calls, what to feed birds.

More birds of the backyard

Northern CardinalBackyardBlue JayBackyardAmerican GoldfinchBackyardAmerican RobinBackyardBlack-capped ChickadeeBackyardTufted TitmouseBackyard