A Dove’s Nest Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura Recognize the Mourning Dove? It’s a common bird that’s easy to take for granted. It seemed like a good idea to take a closer look at this subtle beauty, whose name reflects its haunting, mournful cooing sounds. Subtle coloration of plumage. Mourning Doves are said to mate for life and seem to show real affection for one another. Recently, an adult Mourning Dove led me to its nest that was tucked under the eaves on the front porch of an unoccupied house. Two nestlings with the parent.Parents take turns sitting in the nest.Flimsy nest, made of twigs and grass.Probably about 3 weeks old. The young leave the nest after four weeks, and join other young doves. Meanwhile, the parents start on a new nest. The juvenile dove still looks a bit unfinished … Note the white edges to most feathers. Full grown adults in all their subtle glory… Here are words used by John James Audubon to describe the bird he knew as the “Carolina Turtledove”… The Dove announces the approach of spring. Nay, she does more — she forces us to forget the chilling blasts of winter, by the soft and melancholy sound of her cooing. Her heart is already so warmed and so swelled by the ardour of her passion, that it feels as ready to expand as the buds on the trees are, under the genial influence of returning heat.John James Audubon, in Birds of America Eurasian Collared-Dove This is a close relative of the Mourning Dove that inhabits the same places, but is less common. It’s the Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), a bird that is slightly larger and somewhat paler in color. Black stripe around the neck is the “collar.”Often seen in pairs. Another relative is the Rock Dove (Columba livia), commonly known as the “pigeon.” This is an another overlooked bird, an iridescent beauty. A bit more plump than a dove.A pair of pigeons on the coast. It is an extraordinary thing that a large proportion of your country and my country, of the citizens, never see a wild creature from dawn til’ dusk, unless it’s a pigeon, which isn’t really wild, which might come and settle near them.David Attenborough Visit other posts with photographs of summer birds… A Killdeer Family >>Summer Finches >>2019 Fledglings >> Please follow and like: Share this:FacebookXLike this:Like Loading... Post navigation Woodpecker Nest, 2Insect Eaters