Mourning Dove (also known as the Carolina Dove or American Mourning Dove)

The Mourning Dove is a slender, medium-sized dove with a long, tapering tail, pinkish-fawn breast, and black spots on the wings. Known for its plaintive, owl-like cooing call, it is one of the most abundant and widely distributed birds in North America

Solid muted greyish-brown with subtle warm pinkish-buff tones near the edges, typical of the soft coloration providing camouflage

Pennaceous upper portion with tightly interlocked barbs and barbules, transitioning to a plumulaceous (fluffy, downy) base without an afterfeather

Smooth and soft with a matte appearance, offering moderate stiffness in the vane and loose fluff at the base

Smooth rounded tip, soft grey-brown coloration with subtle buff tones, and a distinct white basal downy section with a pale central rachis

Open and semi-open country, urban areas, farms, prairies, and lightly wooded forests, avoiding dense interior forests

Widespread across North America, ranging from southern Canada through the United States to Central America and the Greater Antilles

Acts as an important seed disperser and a primary food source for many raptors and mammalian predators

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Columba decaocto) and Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), though Mourning Dove body feathers are generally smaller and possess warmer buff-pink tones

Mourning Doves can drink brackish water and are capable of flying at speeds up to 55 mph. They produce 'crop milk' to feed their altricial young

Good condition, intact barbs along the pennaceous section with minor wear at the extreme base, graded as Good