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Appearance
13 ½ inches. The common pigeon. A chunky bird with a short, rounded tail. They are generally in shades of brown, grey and white and usually have two narrow black bands on the wings and a broad black band at the the end of the tail. The rump is white.
Food
Pigeons feed on the ground, eating grain, seeds, crumbs, garbage. They will come to feeders.
Habits and Breeding
There is no real distinction made between doves and pigeons, but pigeons are generally larger. This family has the distinction of having the ability to drink with out lifting the head. Pigeons can be found everywhere, but are native to the rocky cliff areas of the Old World. They were introduced 1606.
The pigeon had many courtship displays, including clapping the wings while in flight and bowing to the prospective mate with the tail spread and the neck feathers fluffed.
The nest is crude and saucer-like, made of sticks and debris, and usually placed on a ledge on a building or a cliff. Two white eggs are incubated by both parents for 18 days. The young fledge in 25-29 days.
Birds of North America, Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region, and National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region.
Appearance
11 ½ - 12 inches. Sandy brown upperparts with some black spots on the wings. The breast is pinkish-buff. The tail is long and pointed with the side feathers white. The male has a light grey crown and an irredescent neck.
Food
Mourning doves eat seeds from weeds, grass and grain as well as some insects. It is a common bird at feeders.
Habits and Breeding
They can be found almost anywhere from cities to their prefered open areas as long as there are some trees and bushes. This one species that has benefited from man's habit of cutting down forests. In some states, like Ohio, it is considered a gamebird in order to control its large numbers. | 
Mourning Dove |
Males do arial displays during the mating season and will coo at the females from perches or on the ground. They do elaborate head bobbing routines to attrach the female.
The nest is a loose platform of twigs placed in a tree or shrub or sometimes on the ground. The 2 white eggs are incubated by both parents for 14-15 days. After hatching, the young are fed "Pigeon milk," a regurgitated mix of food and protien produced in the crop of the adult bird by glands, which they eat out of the parent's mouth. The young fledge at 12-14 days.
Birds of North America, Reader's Digest Book of North American Birds, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region, and Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region.
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