Mourning Dove (Carolina Dove, American Mourning Dove)

The Mourning Dove is a slender, medium-sized dove with a graceful tail, soft grey-brown plumage, and a distinctive mournful cooing call. It is one of the most abundant and widespread birds in North America, highly adaptable to human-modified landscapes.

Uniform pale grey to soft grayish-white coloration with a clean, unpatterned appearance typical of underparts contour plumage

Pennaceous upper vane with tightly interlocked barbs transitioning smoothly into a loose, fluffy (plumulaceous) lower structure with a distinct semiplume appearance

Soft, silky, and lightweight with a matte finish and fluffy base that provides excellent thermal insulation

Uniform pale grey coloration, small size, delicate semiplume structure, and lack of distinct barring or markings

Open and semi-open country, agricultural fields, urban areas, prairies, and light woodlands

Widespread throughout North America, ranging from southern Canada through the United States, Mexico, and into Central America

Important seed disperser and a vital prey species for various raptors and mammalian carnivores

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), which tends to be larger and paler with a distinct black neck ring

Mourning doves are capable of drinking water without removing their bill, acting like a straw. They produce crop milk to feed their altricial young.

Good condition with intact barbs at the tip and slight fluffing at the base; minor normal wear consistent with natural preening