Birds Posters
Doves
Mourning doves are only native to the Nearctic region. They live from southern Canada, throughout the United States, and south to Panama.
Both males and females secrete a substance from their crop that is high in protein and fat.
Called crop milk or pigeon milk, it resembles and smells like cottage cheese and is fed to young birds.
It is a game bird; and in many states, habitat is created with the specific purpose to hunt birds.
The oldest documented wild Mourning Dove was 19.3 years old. The average lifespan of wild birds is 1.5 years.
Mourning doves are medium-sized birds in the pigeon family. Their size, weight, and specific coloration vary across their range.
They have a stream-lined appearance, with a relatively small head and a long, pointed tail.
Common Ground Doves are one of the world's smallest pigeons.
They are rapidly becoming less common in Florida due to ongoing habitat destruction.
White-winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica) are semi-tropical doves whose native range extends from the southwestern U.S. through Mexico
and Central America, into parts of western South America, and to some Caribbean islands.
White-winged Doves are large, pigeon-like doves. Adult birds are brownish-gray above and gray below, with distinct white wing markings found in no other New World dove.
When perched with wings folded, the white wing bars form a narrow (1cm wide) margin along the leading and lower edges of the wings.
Streptopelia risoria is a domesticated dove. Its distribution is a result of escapees from aviaries that adapt to their new wild surroundings.
They originate from the savannas and dry woodlands of Africa.
The wild doves from which these were domesticated live in scrub and grasslands.
Ringed turtle-doves are slightly larger than African collared doves (Goodwin 1983). Their length is approximately 305 mm.
Their tail is shorter than that for the African collared dove.
Despite being named after the Inca Empire, the Inca Dove does not occur in any of the lands that constituted that region.
During winter, they roost in communal huddles in a pyramid formation that helps them conserve heat. These pyramids can contain up to 12 birds.
The Zebra Dove was introduced from Asia in 1922. It is also known as the Barred Ground Dove.
They are popular in Thailand, where having one in your home is thought to bring good luck, and cooing competitions are held each year.
The Spotted Dove is also known as the Spotted Turtle Dove.
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is one of two species that have been argued to be the wild ancestor of the domestic Barbary Dove.
Their scientific name, Streptopeleia decaocto, literally means a collar (streptos) dove (peleia). In Greek mythology, Decaocto was an overworked, underpaid servant girl.
The gods heard her prayers for help and changed her into a dove so she could escape her misery. The dove call still echoes the mournful cries of her former life.