Many people have heard the mourning dove’s sad wooing calls and hoots. After all, they have a diverse portfolio that spans Central and North America. Although its scream is often mistaken for an owl, the mourning dove is a unique species distinguished by its distinct profile and the fact that it generally appears in pairs.
Mourning doves are distinguished from owls and other birds by the foods they consume. A mourning dove will not swoop down to catch a field mouse. Let’s look at what you may set out in your yard to tempt mourning doves to return and sing on your balcony.
Mourning Doves: What Do They Eat?
Mourning doves are granivores, meaning they prefer seeds above all other diets. They’ll also eat grains, fruits, herbs, and wild grasses. They like to eat foods that are readily available on the ground. They’re also opportunistic eaters, ingesting only available items during certain seasons. Mourning doves prefer to stay in places with a greater variety of food sources. Remember that these birds mate for life. Thus each member of the couple requires continuous feeding. Mourning Doves eat a variety of foods. Although mourning doves are granivores, seeds make up nearly half of their diet, and they eat various foods. Here are a few of the meals that mourning doves eat regularly:
- Peanuts
- Corn/Millet
- Buckwheat
- Pine nuts (Rye)
- Sunflower seeds from the foxtail
- Canary grass is a type of grass that grows in the
- Wheat/Safflower/Rapeseed
- Witchgrass
Mourning doves, interestingly, prefer sunflower seeds and other things that they can see rather than having to scratch the ground for them. Another fascinating fact is that these birds chose their food based on their size. Mourning doves, for example, have been shown to prefer shorter and narrower corn seeds to have the easiest time foraging.
When their preferred foods are scarce, mourning doves have been recorded as alternative eating foods. However, this is quite rare. These birds will occasionally consume insects to supplement their diet, but they almost always prefer to eat seeds.
Mourning Doves Forage for Food in What Ways?
The foraging habits of this species are fascinating. Although they spend a lot of time on the ground seeking food, these birds aren’t known for scratching the floor and searching for sustenance. These birds like to search for food directly visible on the basis.
Mourning doves feed on the ground, filling their crop like some other birds. This pouch on their neck can hold food and start the digestive process. Mourning doves will frequently serve their produce and then flee to a safer area to digest their food quietly. Adult birds generate crop milk, which they supply to the chicks in their crop.
In the Winters, What Do Mourning Doves Eat?
Food gets scarcer for all birds during the winter. Mourning doves begin to migrate south like many other birds in the autumn. Some birds migrate to hotter parts of the United States, while others go further south to Mexico and Central America. These birds eat foxtail millet in the fall and forage in recently harvested cornfields in southern states. Mourning doves will remain to forage for their preferred foods during the winter months. Due to their migration to warmer climates, they often have plenty of foraging options. However, not all of these species migrate. During the winter, some birds stay relatively near their breeding grounds, foraging, becoming less active, and feeding on their favourite foods or secondary meals when their first choices aren’t available.
What Do Mourning Dove Babies Eat?
These birds eat foxtail millet in the fall and forage in recently harvested cornfields in southern states. Baby mourning doves only eat crop milk for the first week of their lives. Male and female adult birds can produce this chemical in their crops, the oesophagus pouch where they store food and begin the digesting process.
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Crop milk formation is done from the cells of the crop lining, and it provides the baby birds with the protein and lipids they require. Birds cannot ingest seeds while creating and feeding their young because their digestive systems are not yet ready. Baby birds ingest partially digested seeds from their parents in their second and third weeks of life. These birds eat foxtail millet in the fall and forage in recently harvested cornfields in southern states.
Predators of Mourning Doves
Unlike other birds that eat from hanging feeders or catch and fly with their food, the mourning dove eats while standing still on the ground. These birds are at grave risk from their predators when foraging.
The outlined above are some of the most common predators:
- Domesticated cats
- Hawks and falcons are nocturnal birds of prey.
- Snakes
- Racoons
- Possums
Mourning doves, especially the young ones, are preyed upon by these critters. If you observe these birds in your yard, try to keep your pet cats inside so the birds can feed without being disturbed. Mourning doves eat seeds from various plants throughout the year, and you may occasionally spot one eating fruit or a stray insect. They are excellent foragers who take what is offered rather than digging in the ground, even if it puts them in danger from predators. Their wide range of appropriate meals, even if they are essentially seeds, allows them to live in various environments across the Western Hemisphere.
Summing Up
Mourning doves eat seeds from multiple plants throughout the year, and you may occasionally spot one eating fruit or a stray insect. They are excellent foragers who take what is offered rather than digging in the ground, even if it puts them in danger from predators. Their wide range of appropriate meals, even if they are essentially seeds, allows them to live in various environments across the Western Hemisphere.
