There are two kinds of doves in the Skiatook area, the mourning dove and the Eurasian collared dove. The bird referred to as a rock dove is actually a pigeon (feral pigeon). It was introduced to North America by European settlers in the early 1600s, possibly as a source of food.
The mourning dove is common and abundant across America. It is a sleek, light gray and brown bird with a long, pointed tail with white spots on the sides. The wings have black dots. A blue ring can be seen around the eye. When taking off, the wings make a whistling sound. The call is a mournful “ooaah cooo, coo-coo,” hence the name. Mourning doves mate for life, but if one is killed the remaining bird will find a new partner. They forage for seeds on the ground.
The Eurasian collared dove was introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s, made its way to Florida in the 1980s, then rapidly spread throughout most of America. It is slightly larger and heavier than the mourning dove. It looks like a chunky cousin. It is a pale gray-buff with a partial black collar ring. The tail is squared off and tipped with white. A red ring may be seen around the dark pupil. The voice is a soft “coo-coo, cooo, coo-coo, cooo.” I love the call of both doves, so gentle and peaceful, something so needed today. The collared dove’s main food is grain, so the birds are often found around farms. Both doves have pink feet.
The doves make nests of twigs, weeds and grasses which they place in the fork of a tree. All doves lay two white eggs. Both male and female mourning doves and Eurasian collared doves incubate the eggs. The female mourning dove incubates during the day, the male at night. The male Eurasian collard dove incubates during the day and the female incubates at night. The parents feed the young “crop milk,” a secretion of fat and protein produced by the lining of the crop and regurgitated to the little ones. Both parents are kept busy feeding the babies. Mourning doves fledge and leave the nest in two weeks. collared doves several days later.
