How fast are doves

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Sign In or Create an Account. Sign In. Advanced Search. Search Menu. Article Navigation. Close mobile search navigation Article Navigation. Volume This article was originally published in. Mourning Doves will usually fly away when disturbed or frightened; but occasionally they use body displays, such as fanning their tails, to try to scare off intruders that come near. When a predator comes too close to the nest, sometimes Mourning Dove parents will fly away from their nest and pretend they are injured on the ground.

Then, hopefully the predator will focus on the adult Mourning Dove and forget about the eggs or young birds in the nest. This is called a nest-distraction display. Mourning Doves are mostly light-brown or light-gray in color. These two colors blend into the open-country habitats where Mourning Doves frequently live. They have slender bodies with small heads, black spots on their wings, and have long, fan-shaped, and pointed tails that have white outer-tail feathers.

Males and females look pretty much the same. The male has a bluish-gray area on the crown top of his head. Juvenile Mourning Doves have more dark spots on their wings than the adult birds do. Juveniles also have an interesting pattern on their wings that look like a group of fish scales. Mourning Doves live in many open or semi-open habitats including suburban yards, city parks, roadsides, agricultural fields, grasslands, and lightly wooded areas. They need trees around their habitat for protection and nesting.

However, this species has adapted well to living near humans. Mourning Doves usually build their nests in trees; but will nest in shrubs or even on the ground if they have to. They have been seen nesting in hanging pots or other structures. From February to November each year, female Mourning Doves can lay eggs up to six different times!

Two eggs are laid each time. Their nests are not constructed very well and are usually made of grass or pine needles and a few twigs piled loosely on top of each other. The male brings nest-building materials to the female and the female builds the nest. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs sitting on and keeping them warm. In about two weeks after hatching, the young birds will fledge leave the nest. The father will continue to bring food to the fledglings for another two weeks.

After that, the young birds must look for seeds on their own. The young birds by this time can fly very well and may leave to find areas of their own. Mourning Dove cooling off in a backyard pond, Image by Mary Forrestal. The diet of Mourning Doves is almost entirely made up of seeds.

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