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Mourning Dove Facts: Sounds, Symbolism & Identification

A mourning dove rests on a warm rock.

Image Credit:
Photo by US Fish and Wildlife via Wikimedia Commons
Written By: Heidi Stonehill Executive Editor

The mourning dove, with its soft coo and graceful flight, is a familiar sight and sound across North America. This gentle bird, found in backyards, parks, and open fields, holds a special place in the hearts of many. Whether you’re an aspiring birdwatcher or simply curious about these ubiquitous feathered neighbors, dive into the fascinating world of the mourning dove!

What is a mourning dove?

The mourning dove is a slender gray bird known for its soft cooing call, long tail, and graceful flight. It is one of the most common birds in North America.

How to Identify a Mourning Dove

Mourning doves boast an impressive population exceeding 350 million across the continent, making them the most abundant game bird and a common backyard visitor.

Look for their slender grey bodies, long tails, and the black spots adorning their wings. Their gentle cooing call is also a helpful identifier.

A close up of a mourning dove
Photo: Cami Johnson

What Does a Mourning Dove Sound Like?

The mourning dove’s signature call, a mournful yet strangely comforting coo, is a familiar sound in backyards and natural areas. This vocalization plays a crucial role in attracting mates and defending territories.

How Fast Can Mourning Doves Fly?

Don’t underestimate these seemingly unassuming birds! Reaching speeds of up to 55 mph, mourning doves are swift fliers, capable of impressive bursts of speed during courtship displays and evading predators.

Mourning Dove in Flight
Photo: Jean Blom

Where Do Mourning Doves Live?

These resourceful birds thrive in diverse habitats, from deserts to woodlands to urban parks. Their diet of seeds and grains allows them to flourish in a variety of environments.

Mourning Dove Symbolism and Meaning

Mourning doves have earned a place in folklore and traditions across North America. Native American tribes revered them as symbols of peace and hope, while their cooing often found its way into poetry and music.

How to Attract Mourning Doves to Your Yard

You can attract Mourning Doves to your garden by providing access to water sources and planting native seed-bearing plants like sunflowers and millet. Open platforms or ground feeders filled with seeds like safflower and corn will offer a tasty invitation.

Conservation and Habitat Concerns

While abundant overall, localized populations can face threats from habitat loss and pesticide use. Understanding these challenges and supporting conservation efforts helps ensure the future of this beloved bird.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a mourning dove sound like?

Mourning doves make a soft, mournful cooing sound often heard in backyards and open fields.

Are mourning doves good to have around?

Yes! Mourning doves are peaceful backyard birds that help disperse seeds and add soothing natural sounds to gardens.

What do mourning doves eat?

They primarily eat seeds and grains, including sunflower seeds, millet, safflower, and cracked corn.

How do you attract mourning doves?

Provide ground feeders, fresh water, and native seed-bearing plants like sunflowers and millet.

What does seeing a mourning dove symbolize?

Many cultures view mourning doves as symbols of peace, hope, love, and remembrance.

Where do mourning doves nest?

Mourning doves often build simple nests in trees, shrubs, hanging baskets, or even building ledges.

Click here to listen to the sounds of other birds!

Have you heard a mourning dove? Add your comments below. Be sure to let us know where you live or where you’ve heard this bird sound before!

Bird Sounds

About The Author

Heidi Stonehill

Heidi Stonehill

Executive Editor

Heidi Stonehill is the executive editor for The Old Farmer’s Almanac, where she focuses much of her time on managing content development for the Almanac’s line of calendars.

Read more from Heidi Stonehill

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Comments

<span>Wendy Willoughby</span> Wed, 08/23/2017 - 12:19
There must be one by our bedroom window here in SanJose. I had been wondering, hey is this dove lonely, or lost its mate? Bu I guess it's a mourning dove,so loud I could hear at front of house about forty feet away indoors..very loud!God hath made a strange creature here:)
<span>Andrea H</span> Wed, 07/13/2016 - 15:50
I live in Northwest Indiana and I was in the pool with my mom and was like that bird sounds so pretty. She told me when she lived in southern Illinois Galatia area she could here the noises when she was younger and it brought back memories. I first maybe it was an owl but I thought at this time of the day? So I googled and it she time here and it was spot on!! Love the sound and birds in general but this experience in just hearing the dove was beautiful ❤️.
<span>Mourning Doves…</span> Sun, 06/26/2016 - 16:16
We have several pairs of doves in this semi-rural neighborhood on Milwaukee's far north side. My neighbor insists that the cooing is owls. his grandfather taught him that when they'd come to Wisconsin in the summers. We only have a few pairs here, but on my farm farther south in Racine county, we would have 10 or more of them sitting on the power lines. Love their soothing sound. They come to the feeders - male, female and young ones. They will eat at the feeder trays but seem to prefer eating off the ground.
<span>Julie</span> Sun, 05/29/2016 - 21:20
There has been one single mourning dove cooing on my neighbors roof off and on all day long for the past couple of weeks. Does anyone know if this means it is calling for a mate? I feel bad that he is alone.
<span>Alessandra</span> Fri, 05/20/2016 - 23:52
Oh and just to let you know I live here in California I live in the city of villa park and sometimes I hear doves in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon but never at night but I love the sound that they make and it's so peaceful to me
<span>Alessandra</span> Fri, 05/20/2016 - 23:29
I love the sound of this bird. Every time when I hear the sound of this bird it makes me think of my dad. Every time when my dad hears this bird it makes him think of me and we will always think of each other every time we hear this bird.
<span>Desi</span> Thu, 05/19/2016 - 08:45
I was completely taken aback when I heard this bird one morning, that took me straight back to my childhood in the Caribbean. I used to hear this every morning when I woke up. When I heard it recently, it brought back so many memories I decided I had to figure out what it was!
<span>George</span> Mon, 05/02/2016 - 08:13
I am from NYC and I remember hearing these birds for the last 20 years. When I was a boy I thought they were owls. They are really beautiful birds...
<span>Colleen</span> Thu, 04/28/2016 - 08:01
I love having these birds near, years ago I saw a hawk in the front yard eating one. My friend had them nesting on the ground next to her house, we have a stray tomcat so that's probably not going to happen here.
<span>Lala Land</span> Wed, 04/27/2016 - 13:52
When I lived in Clark County, Ohio, I could hear the mourning dove at any time, but since I've been in South Central Ohio I only hear it at dusk, as if telling everyone it's time to pack it in for the day. It always catches my attention because the song is so soulful. Robins to wake me up, cardinals to call the dog during the afternoon (that's what I thought the call was the very first time I heard it -- someone calling their dog), and the mourning dove telling me the day is done. Ah, nature.