CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 



THE MOURNING DOVE 



OVER a large part of the United States and Canada 

 the mourning dove is now the only kind of wild pigeon 

 to be seen. Its upper parts are olive-grayish brown, its 

 tail long, pointed, and bordered with white at the end. 

 It is sometimes called the " turtle dove," but the real 

 turtle dove lives only in the Old World. 



Mourning doves mate early in the spring and com- 

 monly rear two or more broods of young. The nest is 

 a nearly flat platform made of a few twigs, weed stalks, 

 and straws, placed in one of the lower branches of a 

 tree. Sometimes the two white eggs are laid on the bare 

 ground. The father takes care of the young doves, while 

 the mother incubates the eggs for another brood. 



The cooing of this dove is easily distinguished from 

 other bird notes. It is audible at some distance, but the 

 bird is not so far away as the listener would judge from 

 the sound. To some the cooing seems mournful, but 

 it is really a love song. 



Mourning doves eat weed seeds and scattered grain. 

 In a single stomach were found 6600 seeds, most of them 

 seeds of troublesome weeds. Like chickens, doves swal- 

 low gravel to aid in grinding their food. By some they 

 have been treated as game birds, but they are much 

 more useful alive than dead, and should be protected. 



Do any mourning doves stay near your home through 

 the winter? How are the young fed? How early in 

 the year do they begin to nest, and how late do they 

 rear their last brood ? Did you ever see one far from 

 its mate? , 



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