Mourning doves are a common backyard bird found throughout most of North America. They get their name from their mournful cooing sound. These petite grayish-brown birds with white wing bars and a long tapered tail are a joy to watch as they strut across lawns and perch on telephone wires.
Mourning doves don’t actually excavate cavities to build nests like woodpeckers do. Instead, they rely on pre-existing cavities or artificial nest boxes provided by humans. Offering mourning doves an artificial nest box is a great way to attract a breeding pair to your backyard. But it’s important to provide a properly sized nest box to give them adequate space.
What size nest cavity do mourning doves need?
Mourning doves prefer a nesting cavity that is about 8 inches wide x 8 inches deep x 8 inches high. This gives them enough room to build their flimsy platform nest out of twigs, line it with grasses and feathers, and raise their young. The entrance hole should be 3 inches in diameter.
How to build a mourning dove nest box
Building a nest box for mourning doves is a simple weekend project using basic tools and common lumber. Here are step-by-step instructions:
Materials needed
- One 1 x 10 x 8 inch pine board
- One 1 x 6 x 20 inch pine board
- Wood glue
- 11⁄4 inch exterior screws
- 3 inch exterior screws
- 3 inch diameter circular saw blade or hole saw
- Sandpaper
- Exterior wood finish, stain and/or paint
Cutting diagram
Step-by-step instructions
- Cut all lumber according to the cutting diagram.
- Glue and screw the front piece (A) to the side pieces (B) to form a U shape.
- Glue and screw the bottom piece (C) into the slot at the bottom of the U shape.
- Glue and screw the back piece (D) to the top edges of the side pieces, enclosing the box.
- On the front piece (A), drill a 3 inch entrance hole centered 4 inches from the bottom.
- Sand edges smooth.
- Apply exterior wood finish.
- Screw roof (E) to the top edges of the front and side pieces.
Where to place the nest box
Place your finished mourning dove nest box:
- In a sheltered spot away from prevailing winds and rain.
- 5-15 feet above ground hung from a tree limb or pole.
- With the entrance hole facing an open area with a landing area and clear flight path.
- In the spring before nesting season.
Mourning doves can have up to six nesting cycles per year. So clean out old nests after each brood fledges to make way for the next. Your nest box may quickly become home to a dove family!
What do mourning doves eat?
Mourning doves are seed-eating birds. Their diet consists almost entirely of seeds year-round.
Favorite mourning dove foods
| Food | Details |
|---|---|
| Corn | Whole kernels from agricultural fields or bird feeders |
| Millet | Tiny white seeds of proso millet are dove favorites |
| Safflower | Small white seeds, often mixed into dove seed blends |
| Black oil sunflower | Hulled sunflower hearts or chopped sunflower kernels |
| Nyjer | Tiny, oil-rich thistle seed cherished by doves |
| Peanuts | Chopped roasted peanuts, also eaten by ground-feeding doves |
| Wheat | Cracked wheat or wheat berries |
Doves will also eat fine grit like sand or crushed eggshells to help grind seeds in their muscular gizzards. Offer grit in a small dish near your feeder. Provide a ground platform feeder or scatter seeds on the ground for doves that prefer to eat off the ground.
Foods to avoid
Do not offer mourning doves:
- Bread, crackers, sugary foods – poor nutrition
- Unshelled seeds like peanuts in the shell – difficult for doves to open
- Large seeds like whole corn kernels – too large for tiny dove beaks
How to attract mourning doves
Follow these tips to turn your yard into a mourning dove magnet:
- Provide a nest box tailored to doves.
- Plant native trees and shrubs that produce seeds doves eat like pine, elm, hackberry, mulberry and wild grape.
- Allow grasses and native wildflowers to grow to produce seeds.
- Offer a variety of seeds on platform feeders or scattered on the ground.
- Supply a small grit dish.
- Provide a birdbath with a very shallow edge for drinking and bathing.
- Reduce or eliminate pesticide use.
Fun facts about mourning doves
Symbolic white-tipped tails
The white tips on mourning dove tail feathers allegedly symbolize peace and love. When a mourning dove flies, the white tips remain visible, showing the dove’s peaceful intentions.
Cooing carries far
A mourning dove’s low, mournful cooing can carry several miles. Scientists think males coo to attract females and defend territories. Listen for their coos on spring mornings and evenings.
Patient parents
Both mourning dove parents faithfully incubate eggs and care for the young. They patiently sit tight on nests even when humans or other animals approach closely. The male dove feeds the female while she incubates eggs. After hatching, the parents both regurgitate “pigeon milk” to feed their nestlings.
Dedicated partners
Mourning doves mate for life, forming enduring pair bonds that can last for years. Both sexes are fiercely loyal once paired. Mates cooperate to build nests, incubate eggs and raise young together.
Acrobatic drinkers
Mourning doves can’t sip standing water without submerging their whole beak and head. So they drink like horses by sucking water into their beaks and tilting their heads back to swallow. Watching them drink from bird baths and puddles can be amusing.
Conclusion
With a properly constructed nest box, offerings of favorite foods, and a welcoming habitat, you stand an excellent chance of attracting breeding and nesting pairs of mourning doves to your yard. Enjoy watching the antics of these gentle birds as they raise multiple broods over the course of the nesting season. Their soft cooing will add a peaceful background soundtrack to your garden.
