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Reproductive Characteristics

Courtship begins when a female alights near a displaying male. Usually the male approaches with a charge (head held horizontally forward, tail pointed horizontally back, and whole body raised) and Bow Coo (bows head and body until head nearly touches ground <10 times, rises to very erect position, holds head forward, and utters loud coo). Female responds by flying away (male often follows), by ignoring male and continuing feeding or preening, by pecking at mate, or by permitting copulation and formation of pair bond. After bond is established, the pair loafs together for a few days before initiating nest building (Mirarachi 1994). Mourning doves start nesting early mostly February through October but may continue to nest all year (Mirarachi 1994). Courtship consists of breeding, raising broods and even taken care of one another. Usually mourning dove nest on a tree limb or shrub, very often on the old nest of some other species. The nest is a frail platform of twigs from the ground to 50’ high in trees or shrubs (Goodwin 1983). Normally, two eggs are laid the first in the evening and the second early in the morning (Goodwin 1983). Incubation period is 14-15.5 days. Males incubate during the day and females at night. Parents keep the nest clean for first week after hatch by eating the droppings (Goodwin 1983). Young fledge at 13-15 days after hatching (Goodwin 1983). Mourning doves can live up to four years but rarely do. When a nesting adult is frightened, the bird will drop to the ground near the nest and flutter wildly about as if seriously injured (Goodwin 1983). This is done in order to attract a predator away from the nest so that eggs or hatchlings can be saved.

Breeding Distribution Map (Sauer et al. 2001)