_Zenaidura macroura carolinensis. Case 3, Fig. 3; Case 5, Fig. 11_
Except the southern little Ground Dove, this is
our only Dove. Its long, pointed tail and the
swift, darting flight are its field characters. It
is often mistaken for the Wild or Passenger
Pigeon, now extinct. The two birds differ in size
and in color, but size is a matter of distance,
and color, of comparison, so it seems probable
that as long as there is a possibility of seeing a
Passenger Pigeon, Mourning Doves will be mistaken
for them. L. 11-3/4. The Wild Pigeon is about five
inches longer.
_Range._ North America. In a railway journey from
the Atlantic to the Pacific one may expect to see
the Dove daily. Winters from Virginia southward,
migrating northward in March.
Washington, P.R., common, except in midwinter.
Ossining, common S.R., Mch. 3-Nov. 27; a few
winter. Cambridge, rather rare T.V., Apl. 8-June
18; Sept. 18-Nov. 15. N. Ohio, common S.R., Mch.
20-Oct. 25; rare W.V. Glen Ellyn, tolerably common
S.R., formerly common, Mch. 12-Oct. 21. S.E.
Minn., common S.R., Mch. 15-Dec. 25.
Doves are particularly common in the southern states where, ranked as
game-birds, they are shot in large numbers. The Wild Pigeon's note was
an explosive squawk; the Dove's is a soft, mournful _coo-oo-ah,
coo-o-o-coo-o-o-coo-o-o-_. During the winter, Doves are usually found in
small flocks but, unlike the Wild Pigeon, they nest in scattered pairs.
The nest is in a tree or on the ground. Two white eggs are laid in
April.