A female mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) sits on eggs in her shallow nest of sticks built on the leaves of a giant bird-of-paradise plant (Strelitzia nicolai) near the Gulf coast of central Florida, USA. This small dove is easily recognized by the sad sound of its call, a mournful cooing. The mourning dove is among the most abundant and wide-spread bird species in North America. The birds are very prolific, often hatching a pair of eggs from two to six times every year. Their numbers reach into the millions and the birds are often hunted for sport and meat.
A female mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) sits on eggs in her shallow nest of sticks built on the leaves of a giant bird-of-paradise plant (Strelitzia nicolai) near the Gulf coast of central Florida, USA. This small dove is easily recognized by the sad sound of its call, a mournful cooing. The mourning dove is among the most abundant and wide-spread bird species in North America. The birds are very prolific, often hatching a pair of eggs from two to six times every year. Their numbers reach into the millions and the birds are often hunted for sport and meat.
Size: 2718px × 1692px
Location: Sarasota County, Gulf Coast, Florida, USA
Photo credit: © Michele and Tom Grimm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animals, aves, beaks, bills, bird, bird--paradise, birdlife, birds, body, call, close-, close-ups, closeup, closeups, cooing, daytime, dove, doves, eye, face, feathers, female, fl, florida, giant, horizontal, landscape, leaves, macroura, morning, mournful, mourning, nature, nest, nesting, nests, nicolai, ornithology, outdoors, plants, profile, shade, shaded, shady, sitting, stick, sticks, strelitzia, tail, usa, vertebrate, vertebrates, wildlife, zenaida
