Mourning Dove (Carolina Dove, Rain Crow)

The Mourning Dove is a medium-sized, slender-tailed dove with a graceful appearance, soft grayish-brown plumage, and a distinctive mournful cooing call. They are renowned for their fast, direct flight and whistling wing beats.

Soft grayish-brown or pinkish-buff tones with darker grayish brown shading toward the tip, characteristic of melanin pigmentation in dove plumage.

Pennaceous at the upper distal tip transitioning into a distinctly plumulaceous (fluffy, loose) structure toward the base with weak hooklets.

Soft, silky, and somewhat matte in appearance, lacking high gloss, with a fluffy insulating base.

Soft grayish-pinkish-brown coloration, rounded tip, and the distinct semiplume-like fluffy base typical of columbid body contour feathers.

Open country, scattered trees, farmyards, suburban areas, prairies, and edges of woods.

Widespread throughout North America, ranging from southern Canada through the United States and Mexico into Central America, as well as the Greater Antilles.

Serves as an important seed disperser and a primary prey species for various raptors and mammalian predators.

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

Mourning Doves are one of the most abundant and widely distributed birds in North America and can drink brackish water without ill effects.

Good condition with intact distal barbs and minor wear at the extreme base.