Excerpted from “America’s Favorites,” by Rob Fergus, Backyard Birding, Volume 1, published by BowTie Magazines, publisher of BIRD TALK and BirdChannel.com
Yes, we keep pet birds in our home. But you will see many doves outside your house. Doves are not native to the United States, but have been here for a very long time. Your pet birds may find these gentle, non-threatening wild doves interesting to watch outside a window. Wild bird seeds to put in the bird feeder to attract these doves are oil-type sunflower seeds and millet.
Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) are easily recognizable with their long tails and “coo-coo-coo” calls. Mourning doves can be seen and heard in even the most urban of neighborhoods in Southern Canada and throughout the United States.
Eurasian collared-doves (Streptotelia decaocto) have spread through the western and southern states after colonizing Florida from the Bahamas in the 1980s. Eurasian collared-doves are larger gray birds with black neck collars.
Rock pigeons (Columba livia) are the common park doves originally native to Europe. You can see rock pigeons all throughout the United States, where they breed year-round in warmer parts. They have adapted their cliff-dwelling habits to nesting on building ledges over thousands of years.