MOURNING DOVE
Zenaidura macroura carolinensis (Linnæus)
Other Names.—Carolina Dove; Rain Crow (erroneous); Turtle Dove.
Description.—A little larger than a Robin; head small, tail long and pointed. Adults: Crown clear gray; front of head, face, throat, and lower neck, soft reddish brown, two small black spots back of and below the eye; sides and back of neck gray, with patches of iridescent feathers which reflect greenish, golden, and purplish lights; back and wings grayish brown, some of the coverts and tertials with black spots; rump and tail gray, the outer tail-feathers noticeably tipped with white; underparts pinkish brown, lightest on belly and under tail-coverts; bill black; feet reddish. Female: Less brightly colored than male. Young birds in their first flight plumage are much scaled in appearance and lack the bright colors of the adult. Length: About 12 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A common summer resident throughout, arriving in late March and remaining until November. It is occasionally found in winter when the ground is free of snow or when food in the form of seed or grain is plentiful. In many sections it is becoming commoner.
Nest.—A flimsy, flat structure made of small twigs, weed-stalks, or other bits of vegetation, placed, usually, on a horizontal branch or in an ample crotch in an orchard tree or willow, often near a stream, and usually not at great height from the ground. The nest is sometimes placed on the ground. Eggs: 2, white.
Mourning Dove
Doves are often to be seen perched on a prominent dead branch, and at such times their small heads, erect posture, and pointed tails are noticeable. As they fly up from a field, or alight, the white in their outer tail-feathers shows plainly, but wherever they occur they may be recognized by the characteristic whistling sound of their wings in flight and their gentle cooing. This song may be written coo-oo-oo, ooh, ooh, ooh, the opening syllable using three notes, the middle note being the highest in the song. At close range this cry is rough and throaty; at a distance it is mellow and soft, its tender, mournful quality making adequate description difficult.
Young Doves are fed with partly digested food which the parents pump up from their stomachs. They are helpless, dowdy creatures while in the nest, and they sometimes come to an untimely end when a gale blows the structure from its scant moorings or when, from lack of proper balance, it topples to one side.
The white eggs, when fresh, are translucent as moonstones, and the sunlight, in penetrating the thin shells, discloses faintly the color of the golden yolk.
Doves eat a great deal of weed seed. They have no destructive habits whatever, and are worthy of all possible protection. They appear to be on the increase as a result of shortening the shooting season in the South, where they are popular as game-birds.
TURKEY VULTURE
Cathartes aura septentrionalis Wied
Other Names.—Buzzard; Turkey Buzzard.
Description.—Smaller than a Turkey; head and upper neck virtually bare; ruff of feathers about lower neck; wings long as in most birds of prey, but feet without the sharp, curved claws of the hawk tribe; plumage blackish brown, glossed with purplish when fresh, rusty and soiled in appearance when old; under surface of flight-feathers lighter, showing in flight; skin of neck and head reddish, with whitish tubercles and ridges, and some hairs and small feathers; bill whitish; feet dull flesh-color; eyes brown. Downy young, white in color with pale blue-gray feet and head. Length: About 30 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A regular and fairly common summer resident in the southern half of the Commonwealth and locally in western Pennsylvania, at least as far north as Crawford County, where it nests in limited numbers at Pymatuning Swamp. It arrives in mid-March and stays until November, or later. In the southernmost counties, and occasionally elsewhere in its range, it remains throughout the winter.
Nest.—No nest is built. Eggs: 2, whitish, blotched irregularly with black, brown, and gray, placed on the ground in a cavity among rocks or in a hollow log.