Mourning Dove (Carolina Dove, Rain Crow)

The Mourning Dove is a slender, medium-sized dove with a long, tapered tail, pinkish-fawn to grayish-brown plumage, and a distinctive black spot below the eye. Known for its mournful cooing calls and rapid, whistling flight.

Soft grayish-brown or taupe coloration with a subtle pale fringe along the rounded distal tip

Pennaceous vane distally with a distinct plumulaceous (fluffy) base where barbs are unhooked

Smooth and soft texture with a matte finish, typical of soft-plumaged ground-foraging birds

Subtle grayish-taupe coloration, pale whitish rachis, rounded tip with a faint lighter edge, and fluffy basal barbs

Open country, urban areas, farms, prairies, and lightly wooded scrublands

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

Important seed disperser and prey species for raptors and mammals, serving as a key link in the local food web

Eurasian Collared-Dove and Passenger Pigeon (extinct), which are typically larger and have different coloration patterns

Mourning doves produce crop milk to feed their young, can fly at speeds up to 55 mph, and drink water by sucking it up rather than tilting their heads back

Good condition with minor wear at the tip and slightly frayed barbs at the base