December 14, 2025

Puffed up against the cold, a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), along with a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) in the background.

The range of the Mourning Dove is impressive, being year-round in almost all of the continental US and Mexico. Quite a popular gamebird, more than 20 million birds are shot annually in the United States for sport and meat. It is remarkable that it can survive as a species under such a threat, but in warm areas a pair of these Doves can produce up to six sets of nestlings (generally of two each) in a breeding season.

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