Z is for Zenaidura macroura {Blogging Through the Alphabet}

August 16, 2019

Z is for Zenaidura macroura {Blogging Through the Alphabet}

Welcome back to our final leg of this Blogging Through the Alphabet journey along the birding trail. I am pleased that you have joined us all along. I hope it has sparked a desire to learn more about birds, and will draw you outside to make your own observations.

Yes, as you can see, I had to go with a scientific name again. This time it brought us to the Mourning Dove. I think they are a lovely bird, and are one of the most common visitors to one's yard, for they can be found across most of the United States year around.

(photos and information from allaboutbirds.org)

Adult Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove has a slender tail and a small head. It is a graceful bird, and peaceful to watch while it forages beneath our bird feeder.

Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying.

Juvenile Mourning Dove

Mourning Doves feed on the ground and in the open. They peck or push aside ground litter, but don’t scratch at the ground. Males have favorite “cooing perches” they defend from other males.

Seeds make up 99 percent of a Mourning Dove’s diet, including cultivated grains and even peanuts, as well as wild grasses, weeds, herbs, and occasionally berries. They sometimes eat snails.

Scatter seeds, particularly millet, on the ground or on platform feeders. Plant dense shrubs or evergreen trees in your yard to provide nesting sites. Keep your cats inside - birds that spend much of their time on the ground are particularly vulnerable to prowling cats.

The Mourning Dove is a resident to long-distance migrant. Northern birds fly south thousands of miles (as far as southern Mexico); individuals that breed in central and southern U.S. move a few hundred miles or not at all.

The Mourning Dove is the Wisconsin State Symbol of Peace

And that's a wrap, for this round of Blogging Through the Alphabet. We'll be taking a break, but watch for a new round in a few weeks.

Thank you for walking along with us on this journey along the birding trail. I hope you'll share your birding discoveries, and bird feeder visitors. I'd love to hear about them!

Please join my fellow co-hosts and me:
Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Christine @ Life’s Special Necessities
Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag
Jennifer @ A Peace Of Mind
Kimberly @ Vintage Blue Suitcase
Kirsten @ DoodleMom Homeschool
Kristen @ A Mom’s Quest To Teach
Lori @ At Home: Where Life Happens
Yvonne @ The Life We Build