MOURNING DOVE
PR

The mourning dove is well named because its song is certainly suggestive of sadness. It is a sweet sadness though that has a genuine appeal when heard from a distance early on a summer morning. The dove belongs to the pigeon family and looks just like an undersized grayish blue refugee from a pigeon cote.

The sleek flyer is a favorite gamebird throughout the Southern states. His flight is so swift and erratic that average hunters are pleased to collect one bird for every four shots. Despite the size, the flesh of the dove is delicious especially when served with wild rice.

The nest of the mourning dove is a sloppy affair, so loosely constructed that heavy winds sometimes dislodge the one to two white eggs. Two or three broods are raised and despite hunting pressure, the dove population is at an all-time high. Young birds are first fed with a secretion called pigeon's milk. This substance is formed in the adult bird's crop and regurgitated into the throats of the youngsters.

Adult birds feed on insects, weed seeds, and grasshoppers during the spring and summer months. In the colder months, they move into cornfields and feed on grain scattered by mechanical corn pickers. Doves are often seen on the causeway approaching Jamestown Island where they pick up gravel as a digestive aid.

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