DOVES S 



PIGEONS AND DOVES. ORDER COLUMB^ 



PIGEONS AND DOVES. FAMILY COLUM- 

 BID;£ 



MOURNING DOVE 

 Zenaidura macroura carolinensis. Case 3, Fig. 3; Case $, Fig. ir 



Except the southern little Ground Dove, this is our only Dove. 

 Its long, pointed tail and the swift, darting flight are its field 

 characters. It is often mistaken for the Wild or Passenger 

 Pigeon, now extinct. The two birds differ in size and in color, 

 but size is a matter of distance, and color, of comparison, so it 

 seems probable that as long as there is a possibility^ of seeing 

 a Passenger Pigeon, Mourning Doves will be mistaken for them. 

 L. ni. The Wild Pigeon is about five inches longer. 



Range. North America. In a railway journey from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific one may expect to see the Dove daily. 

 Winters from Virginia southward, migrating northward in 

 March. 



Washington, P. R., common, except in midwinter. Ossining, 

 common S. R., Mch. 3-Nov. 27; a few winter. Cambridge, 

 rather rare T. V., Apl. 8-June 18; Sept. 18-Nov. 15. N. Ohio, 

 common S. R., Mch. 20-Oct. 25; rare W. V. Glen Ellyn, toler- 

 ably common S. R., formerly common, Mch. 12-Oct. 21. S.E. 

 Minn., common S. R., Mch. 15-Dec. 25. 



Doves are particularly common in the southern states 

 where, ranked as game-birds, they are shot in large num- 

 bers. The Wild Pigeon's note was an explosive squawk; 

 the Dove's is a soft, mournful coo-oo-ah, coo-o-o-coo-o-o- 

 coo-0-0-. During the winter, Doves are usually found in 

 small flocks but, unlike the Wild Pigeon, they nest in 

 scattered pairs. The nest is in a tree or on the ground. 

 Two white eggs are laid in April. 



GROUND DOVE 



Chamepelia passerina lerrestris. Case 3, Fig. 4 



The female is duller than the male. L. 6\. 



Range. Tropical and subtemperate parts of the Western Hemi- 



