I saw a male Mourning Dove yesterday circling and chasing away other Doves, which usually means he’s staking out his nesting territory early. Although most Mourning Doves mate from spring to fall, they reportedly are capable of mating any time during the year.
If you haven’t already, you’ll soon hear cooing from the male Mourning Doves. (Females usually don’t coo.) Mourning Doves have two other cute traits that set them apart from most birds. First, they, usually sleep with their chins tucked into their breasts rather than with their heads under a wing:
Second, they also use their thin beaks like straws when drinking, keeping their heads down and sucking the water up, rather than taking a beak-full of water and tossing their heads back to let gravity do the job.
(Brooklin, Maine; archive images shown)