Mourning Dove (Carolina Dove, American Mourning Dove)

The Mourning Dove is a medium-sized, slender-tailed dove with a gentle demeanor, soft grayish-brown plumage, and distinctive black spots on the wings. They are famous for their melancholy, owl-like cooing calls and are among the most abundant and widely distributed birds across North America.

Uniform soft grey-blue coloration on the exposed pennaceous tip with a paler, whitish-grey downy base and a dark central rachis

Pennaceous at the tip and upper margins with tightly interlocked barbules, transitioning to a plumulaceous (fluffy) base with loose barbs

Smooth and soft to the touch with a matte finish, lacking any strong iridescence on this specific body feather

Uniform soft grayish coloration, rounded tip, smooth contour structure, and small size characteristic of dove body coverts

Open and semi-open country, agricultural fields, prairies, urban areas, and lightly wooded suburbs

Widespread throughout North America, ranging from southern Canada through the United States and Mexico into Central America, as well as parts of the Caribbean

Serves as an important seed disperser and a vital prey species for many raptors and mammalian carnivores

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

Mourning Doves are capable of drinking water without lifting their heads, acting like a straw. They also produce crop milk to feed their altricial chicks

Good condition, fresh with intact barbs and no visible signs of heavy wear, fading, or parasitic damage