Image #169 – Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

This pretty little dove makes me think of a ballerina–it’s the lovely arch in the neck.  Mourning doves are present throughout the United States and in summer months they even migrate into Canada.  It’s a wonder they survive at all. They build nests that are impossibly flimsy and often in very public places. I recall a retirement home in Florida where a dove had built her nest directly above the door leading to the patio area. She would sit there all day, not moving a muscle as people by the dozens came and went.   The residents of the home were delighted to have the nest so visible and I have no doubt their collective karma guaranteed the successful fledge. ❧