Mourning Dove
(Zenaidamacroura)
Photographed in
Naples, FL Mar 2007
Tucson, AZ Apr 2010
Abundant and widespread, the Mourning
Dove is well known throughout most of North America and mate for life, if one
dies the other lives alone forever, thereafter.
Its mournful call is heard from
deserts to forest edges, from farmlands to inner cities. Male and female
mourning doves look similar with greyish-brown backs, buff-coloured undersides,
black spots on the wings and behind the eye, and white feathers in the tail,
which show during flight.
Juveniles can be distinguished from
adults by light buffing on the tips of the primary feathers, which persist
until the first moult. By the age of 3 months, it is difficult for the casual
observer to distinguish the difference between young and adult doves.
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