Do Mourning Doves Mate For Life? (Complete Guide)

mourning dove is large pigeon family The family, including doves and doves, is one of the most widespread birds in Central and North America.

Part of the reason mourning doves have been so successful is their prolific breeding behavior. Many pairs raise three to four litters a year, but in rare cases, as many as six litters have been recorded! That’s more than any other bird species in North America! So, do mourning doves mate for life?

Mourning doves are usually seasonally monogamous, meaning that most birds form a new pair each breeding season. However, many birds will re-pair with the same mate. Birds remain faithful throughout the breeding season, spending nearly all of their time together. Some pairs of mourning doves stay together year-round in warmer regions.

If you spot a pair of mourning doves, it’s not uncommon to see them express their love for each other. Throughout the breeding season, they groom and cuddle with each other, often greeting each other with gentle coos. The strong bond formed by mourning doves has helped them produce many successful chicks.

Of course, there’s still a lot to learn about the pairing behavior of these popular and successful birds – read on to find out!

Mourning pigeons form strong bonds with mates during breeding season

How do mourning doves attract mates?

Unmated male mourning doves approach females at the breeding grounds before the breeding season begins. In most of North America, mourning doves pair as early as October to February before the spring breeding season.

In warmer regions, pairs of mourning doves may stay together year-round, essentially mating for life. Non-migratory mourning doves are more likely to form lifelong bonds because they spend most of their lives in the same territory.

Before mating, mourning males may attack each other when they see unmated females in the area.

Males advertise themselves to females by perching and cooing most of the day.

Sometimes they timidly approach the female, or muster up the courage to fly directly to the female’s perch. Aerial displays have also been observed, with males flapping their wings and flying vigorously up and down. Wing flapping is one of the main means by which male mourning doves try to attract females.

Before mating, the male will usually groom the female, to which the female will respond. Additionally, two birds may vibrate their wings as a sign of affection and pleasure during courtship.

Mourning doves also chirp and coo, and they may sit together for long periods of time and coo softly. Once ready, the female will bow to indicate she is ready, and the male will mount her. After mating, grooming and grooming continues for a short while.

A breeding pair of mourning pigeons

Do two mourning doves help with nest building?

Pairs of mourning doves tend to cooperate in everything they do, from nest building to hatching and raising chicks.

Once paired, mourning males typically look for efficient nesting sites. In the countryside or in the field, well-placed nests are in woodland or in dense foliage, usually in medium-sized trees, although mourning doves can nest almost anywhere.

After choosing the nesting site, the male bird takes the female’s twigs and begins to build the nest. Mourning dove nests aren’t complicated, and building them doesn’t take much care – time is always of the essence with these bossy breeders!

A female mourning dove sits on a nest with her chicks

Do both mourning doves hatch?

Both male and female mourning pigeons are cooperative when it comes to brooding, and they take turns incubating the eggs in a typical 24-hour cycle.

The males usually incubate the eggs all morning, and the females don’t take over until late afternoon. In most cases, females hatch for most of the 24 hours.

Mourning doves make a low cooing sound to signal that they want to switch nests. Hatching takes about 14 days, sometimes less in warmer regions.

Male and female mourning doves share hatching duties

Do two mourning doves help raise chicks?

Pairs of mourning doves work closely together to raise their chicks. They form a strong pairing that makes for great teamwork.

Once mourning dove chicks are born, both parents hatch the chicks to keep them warm. Similar to hatching, males typically hatch from morning to afternoon, while females hatch for the remainder of the day and night. However, depending on the weather, the parents may not always be constantly brooding the chicks.

For the first week or so, young mourning pigeons are fed a high-fat, high-protein secretion called crop milk. Crops are an extension of the digestive system. Crop milk is similar to mammalian milk; most pigeons and doves feed it to their chicks.

Both male and female mourning pigeons are fed crop milk to the chicks. This continues for about a week, at which point the parents introduce harder foods into the chick’s diet, including berries, seeds, grains, and insects.

After ten days or so, the male takes over feeding, allowing the female to prepare for the next litter. A pair of mourning doves is highly cooperative, sharing almost all of the duties allowing them to breed quickly and efficiently. They are one of the most common American birds for a reason!

Mourning dove parents arrive at their chick’s hideout

What happens when a mourning dove mate dies?

It is sometimes thought that mourning doves are so named because they mourn a deceased mate.But really, their name comes from their rather sad low profile woo woo woo woo woo call!

Mourning doves have been observed to miss their deceased mates, but this behavior is not unique among birds. Many birds display overt signs of distress or other negative emotional responses upon the death of their mate or chicks.

The researchers believe there is an element of emotional sadness to these responses, but stress that the birds may be confused about what is happening to their mates.

If the mourning dove’s mate dies, they will look for a new mate in due course, before the next breeding season begins. On rare occasions, single bereaved mourners help other pairs build nests and hatch chicks, which is known as cooperative breeding.