That is soft, melodic, mournful sound will help you identify the Mourning Dove. You will spot this plump gray bird perching nearby your feeder on the ground or on a fence. When you hear the Mourning Dove cooing, the song is almost always coming from a male looking for a mate. Their cousin is the Rock Dove (pigeon). You will note they have that same rocking walk.

The Mourning Dove is a gentle bird that is a voracious eater. They can eat about 12 to 20 percent of their body weight every day; store it in their crop and fly off to digest it. Usually a ground feeder they enjoy millet. Interesting facts about the Mourning Dove:

• Dove parents will feed chicks "crop milk" or "pigeon milk"- secreted by cells in the crop, then regurgitated for baby doves called squabs. Very few other birds provide this kind of food.
• They are one of the few birds that can suck up liquid through their beaks like a straw, instead of having to tilt their heads back and let gravity do the work.