For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

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

More Like This

Comments

<span>Obie Gonzalez</span> Sat, 04/26/2014 - 12:42
Hear them in my back yard near Dallas.
<span>Rachelb2</span> Tue, 04/22/2014 - 00:35
So glad I found this call! I heard this bird throughout my childhood in Santa Monica, California in the 80s—the call is so strongly associated with my childhood years and lazy summer days. I recently moved to Northern California and hear this bird's call regularly here, too, which I love. I've been trying to figure out what bird it is and am happy to finally have an answer!
<span>Kris Elbert</span> Wed, 04/02/2014 - 20:15
Lake Havasu City, AZ We have doves often and on all day and every day. The last couple of days we've been matching a pair of doves with the male doing the mating call and dance. Fascinating!
<span>Jc2</span> Wed, 04/02/2014 - 13:20
Gainesville, VA - we have a morning dove who makes her nest under our deck each year. She was perched on the ledge of our deck earlier this week singing her beautiful call. I enjoyed watching her.
<span>Trisha Macintyre</span> Wed, 03/19/2014 - 19:37
The Mourning Doves frequent my yard & feeders, I'm a little west of Boston, MA, my husband keeps telling me he hears an owl...lol, I had to play the doves coo for him, he was astounder how much they sound like an owl. I also have many Cardinals as well, they love the Safflower seeds.
<span>William Grisé</span> Fri, 02/14/2014 - 11:24
Here in Dracut, MA we hear them all the time, and we even hear them up in the White Mountains in New Hampshire!
<span>Ianr</span> Sun, 10/13/2013 - 14:01
so glad i finally found out what bird this was i recently made a song incorporating the haunting notes of the mourning dove. great site!
<span>Mark Raine</span> Thu, 07/18/2013 - 11:43
we have been waking this song for weeks now. I do not remember hearing them before. Tisdale Saskatchewan
<span>Rhonda Riffle</span> Tue, 06/11/2013 - 10:18
I hear a mourning dove every day now in our back yard here in Georgetown KY. I thought they were owls until I actually saw the bird that was making the sound.
<span>Christina Newman</span> Tue, 05/28/2013 - 14:37
I watch the doves all the time, since I feed them.Every evening I feed before I go out they are lined up across the street on the highline wires. After I throw the feed they all come down to eat, sometimes there are as many as 50 doves, it is a wonderful thing to watch how they fly in, eat a bit then fly out.. I have two black ring doves who come every evening, they make a much different sound than the regular doves..The cooing sound comes from the regular doves you can see them when they are making the sound.. I love watching them it is so peaceful watching them...