Bird of the Week: Mourning Dove

The melancholy, hollow, and mournful call is how this bird was named the Mourning Dove. This extremely adaptable bird has greatly benefited from the development of forests into fields and farms throughout the country. They can find habitat almost anywhere besides dense woodlands. You can often spot them resting on telephone wires and foraging for seeds on roadsides. This adaptability allows them to be prolific throughout the United States, Mexico, and into Canada. In Michigan there are few species as abundant as the Mourning Dove. With its beautiful call, iridescent feathers, and whistling wings, these birds are a welcome addition to any yard. With seeds making up 99 percent of their diet, adding a bird feeder to your space is a great way to attract them. Their nests are often flimsy in construction and can be found mostly in evergreens, but also in thickets, vines, abandoned nests or even in empty garden pots close to your home. You can install a nesting cone in your yard to attract them to your space. Click here to find out different types of nest structures you can add to your space to attract even more bird species. Happy Birding!