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Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

Pair of Mourning Doves on a Los Angeles Balcony

Introduction

Mourning doves are one of the most common and perhaps most loved of all the doves found in the United States.  Their mournful call can be heard throughout the day during the summer months in most states.  They are well known for their peaceful and gentle nature.  And those who have ended up and rescuing these birds have usually found them to be friendly and if kept some time even, affectionate and loving.  Males also have a sense of humor at times. 

They are well known because they often choose to build their nests close to, on, or even in human habitations.  Many people have found mourning doves building nest on their patios, decks, porches, and even on the balconies of hi rise apartment buildings.  There favorite nesting sites are empty flower pots and planters.  Several people have reported mourning doves raising their babies inside their garages even when the doors were closed much of the time.  One woman ended up leaving her garage window open to allow the dove to enter and leave whenever they wanted.  Another man who used his garage as a workshop on a daily basis had a pair of mourning doves come in and build a nest close to his work bench.  And finally a woman sent photos in to Gary Friedman link above) showing a dove nested on top of a wreath attached to her front door.  That nest precluded the use of the front door for four weeks.  People have found that if care is taken to avoid wearing bright colored clothing (any reds or yellows), or making loud noises, the doves are willing to share the patio, deck, porch, or balcony with the human owners of the residence.  Initially they will spook easily, but once the two eggs are laid and incubation is started in earnest, the doves will only fly away in cases of extreme stress and they will quickly return to the nest once things quiet down. Many people report being able to sit on the deck and read while listening to music while the dove remains on her eggs.

Mourning dove looking for nest site in a planter

If the doves are successful in raising their babies, they will return to the same nesting site again and again.  Many people report that their doves will migrate south in the winter and then return to the same nesting site when they come back in the spring.  How they find their way without maps and a GPS unit is beyond me but it happens again and again.  Doves that return year after year often becoming quite tame and most human families learn to adore them. 

Many people ended have up taking in abandoned or injured baby doves, as mourning dove babies are very vulnerable to attacks by predators after their parents leave the nest and also during their first two or three days on the ground.  Some babies are picked up because people do not

realize the parents are watching them. Of course they should be left alone if they have not been injured or are not in obvious danger.  This page was added to the web site in the spring of 1999 when we first started receiving a large number of inquiries about mourning doves and their babies.  Now during the spring and summer months the majority of our mail is concerned with mourning doves rather than the pet dove species.

Names

The mourning dove is also known as the Carolina dove, Grayson's, dove Soccoro dove, wood dove, and in some areas - the turtle dove.

Sub-species

The subspecies of Zenaida macroura have been identified as follows:

Z. macroura macroura - the nominate race, inhabits Cuba, Isle of Pines, and Hispaniola. It is smaller and darker in color than Z.macroura carolinensis.

Z. macroura carolinensis - is found in Eastern U.S. and is the Linneaus sub-species.

Z. macroura marginella - the Woodhouse sub-species occurs in Western North America and tends to be slightly paler in color.

Z. macroura tesmariae - from the Tres Marias Islands off Western Mexico - has darker buff on the head.

Z. macroura clarionensis - is found on Clarion Island off Western Mexico is larger and darker.

Z. macroura graysoni - found on Sororro Island, Mexico is still larger and darker - extinct in the wild. Is now officially considered a separate species (Zenaida graysoni).

Eggs are incubated for 14 to 15 days. The female doves sits on the eggs at night and during part of the day.  The male dove stands guard at night, often some distance away.  During the day the male relieves the female so she can defecate, eat, and drink.  Toward the end of the 14 day incubation period, both parents often incubate the eggs together to provide additional heat and humidity.

After hatching, the young are first fed "pigeon milk" from the lining of the parent's crop, and later they receive partially digested food  from the parents.  Somewhere between 11 and 14 or more days after the babies hatched out the parents will leave the nest. 

Within a half day after the parents left, the chicks will become hungry and one by one they take their first flight to the ground, often far below.  The parents usually remain out of sight until the babies are on the ground then they will feed them.

During the next few days the parents watch over the babies trying to protect them from predators as they improve their flying skills and learn to peck seeds on the ground..  The parents will also continue to feed them up to another 12 days after they left the nest.  During that time the parents may rehabilitate their old nest and lay another clutch.  Meanwhile the babies will stay nearby several more days unless frightened away.

It takes a pair of mourning doves on an average of 33 days to raise a brood.  They will make 5 or 6 attempts and of those attempts they will have 3 to 4 successful broods.  From the 6 to 8 eggs that are laid they will raise 5 to 6 young birds.  Mourning doves do suffer a high mortality and studies have shown that between 50 and 70 percent will die within one year after hatching.  Some reports indicated that hunting mortality is insignificant and others indicate that hunting is responsible for taking the lives of 15 percent of the birds each year.  While morning doves are one of the most abundant birds in the United States, data indicates that population levels are decreasing.

Nesting Problems in Residential Areas

Much of the correspondence received from this site is related to mourning dove nesting and the care of "abandoned" mourning dove babies.  Often mourning doves will look for flower pots that are not being used or hanging planters that have enough room for a nest.  They prefer pots that are about half full of earth and are located underneath a porch or deck roof.  Sometimes they will look for pots located on balconies of hi rise apartments.   If your are providing a pot for a dove and it is in the open, it should be half filled with well drained soil so when it rains the water will drain out immediately.  All though doves like to find their own nesting material you may want to help and provide sufficient material so that the eggs will be well above the surface of the soil.

Thus if there is a heavy rain, the eggs will stand a better chance of remaining above any water that collects in the flower pot.  The dove can easily keep the eggs dry from water falling form above, but they are helpless against water that collects underneath them.  In fact in this situation doves often will try to move their eggs to  a new location.  They do this by making a small hole in the shell so a little egg yolk comes out and hardens.  Then using the hardened protrusion, they can pick the egg up and fly it to a new location.

Another problem concerning mourning dove nests  is the buildup of a population of external 

parasites such as lice and mites.  Birds that  are being kept as pets can be dusted with 5% Sevin dust to control these populations and the dust can also be applied to the nests.  When the wild doves leave their nest, Sevin 5 dust can be applied to the nest to kill any remaining lice or mites.  

If the doves were successful in raising their babies the will probably return to repair the nest and raise another clutch.

People ask about providing food and water near the nest site.  It is generally recommended that if food or water are provided, it should be done far from the site - perhaps on the opposite of the home.  Food and water located near the nest may attract other predators.

Other times doves will not select the most ideal nest site and sometimes will place their nesting material on window sills and other outward sloping ledges that provide an very insecure base.  Thus sometime after the eggs have been laid, the nest and eggs will fall to the ground.  Undamaged eggs can often be picked up and placed in some kind of nest container located in a more suitable location as long as it is not too far away from the original nest.  Often the parents are slow to come back to their eggs, but by nightfall they usually come around.

Occasionally the nest will fall after the baby birds have hatched out, but are not ready to fly.  This often results in the parents leaving the area and thus requiring the home owner to take over the chore of raising the babies.

To avoid having nests located in undesirable situations, home owners can assist doves by leaving vacant flower pots in suitable locations (i.e. under a roof where the nest can not be seen from above).  They can also construct nest containers that can be attached to trees close to their home.  The method of making a nest container is described in the next section.

Assistance in Nest Building

Home owners can assist doves in nest building by constructing a nest container as outlined below and then either attaching it to a nearby tree or to a house.

1. Obtain a square foot of construction cloth for each nest to be made.

2. Cut a circle out of the cloth having a six inch radius

3. Make a six inch cut from the outside edge of the circle to the center of the circle.

4. Form a cone with the circle, overlapping the 3/8th of the circle, and fastening the edges together with staples.

5. Mount the cone on a tree or building with roofing nails, staples, or wire. Modify the shape as needed so the cone will stay upright when attached to the tree.  Turn down the edge of the cone so it is rounded and there will be no sharp ends that would injure the parents or their baby birds.  If possible locate the container where it is shielded from the elements and would not be visible by a hawk flying overhead or a crow flying nearby.

6. You might also put a few sticks and twigs inside the cone and then let the birds do the rest.

Some people have purchased small wicker baskets for nest containers and wired them to trees or other appropriate locations.

If you want to go further you could also provide a bird feeder and a water source but do not place these items near the nest as they may attract predators.

CAUTION:  It should be noted that mourning doves, their babies, and nests often become infested with various parasites including lice, mites, fleas, and ticks.  While their parasites can not live without birds, they can still get on human bodies and could live as long as three months before dying.  To avoid contacting these parasites, a insecticide like Sevin 5 which will not harm the birds, should be applied to the nest during construction, during the occupancy period if possible, or before you remove an old nest or recondition it for future use.  Then leave the nest alone for a couple of days until the parasites have been killed or have left the area.

Some people have asked about providing bird houses. At this time I have not seen any information indicating that doves would nest inside a bird house but if anyone write in about this I will include the information here.

When You Find a Fallen Baby Dove...

Invariably people will come across baby birds that may have been abandoned for one reason or another. Sometimes the baby is defective and the parents then remove the bird from the nest and other times the parents are frightened away, the baby accidentally falls out of the nest, or the whole nest falls from is original location.  If the baby is fully feathered, do recognize that the baby you found may have just left the nest and just took his first flight down to the ground.  In that case the parents should be carefully watching over him and her and will occasionally descend and provide food.  It probably would be best to stay out of sight as long as there are no dogs, cats, or other predators in the vicinity.  And if you have a cat or dog it would be best to keep them inside for the next few days.

If the baby is not fully feathered, the first thing that should be done is to try and locate the nest where the bird fell from, and if possible, using a ladder if necessary, place the bird back in the nest.  You can be sure the parents are still around and watching your every move even though they may stay out of sight.  The parents probably will not return to the nest immediately but they will return by darkness unless there is some predator, like a snake, up in the tree where the nest is located.  If you can not find the nest, then you should try to come up with a waterproof nesting box of some kind and place nesting material in it (twigs, grasses, and straw) and then attach it to or hang it high in the nearest suitable tree to where the baby fell.  Then place the baby in the nest.  Again the parents will probably take over the new nest by nightfall.

If the parents do not return before nightfall, or the onset of rain or colder weather, then the baby should be taken inside.  Un-feathered babies must be kept warm (94 degrees F.) or they will die.  Babies with feathers that completely cover their body should be kept a temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees F.

If the parents do not return, then the appropriate response is to put the baby in a shoe box with some soft material inside and take the bird to a wildlife rehabilitator or a veterinarian's office as they often have contacts with wildlife rehabilitators.

But there are locations where there are no wildlife rehabilitators available, or they refuse to take doves because of the work required, or because of their fear of disease.   For those cases I have provided the following information to assist those who might want to take care of the baby by themselves.

The top two photos in this section are of fledglings that left their nest on the previous day.  The bottom photo shows a fledgling that left the nest two days before.  All three photos were taken by Casey Musser of Springfield, Missouri.

CAUTION:  People that take in wild doves need to be warned that it is possible that the bird could be infested with external parasites such as feather lice and mites, and could also be carriers of salmonellae, a genus that includes thousands of bacteria species. Some species are infective to humans. There are also other infectious diseases that are carried by doves that can endanger humans such as ornithosis which is spread by airborne droplets when an infected bird sneezes or coughs.  Antibiotics such as tetracycline are effective against this disease if caught early. If you become ill after handling wild doves, be sure to report the fact that you have these birds to your doctor.

Care of Baby Mourning Doves