• East view from Crissy Field overlook with old Coast Guard station on left and city on right

    Presidio of San Francisco

    California

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Mourning Dove

(Zenaida macroura)
 
Mourning Dove
A Morning Dove at the Thompson Reach restoration site.
Will Elder, NPS
 

Natural History: The Mourning Dove eats seeds, grasses, and sometimes insects. It nests in trees where it breeds from January to September.

General Distribution: In the Presidio, this species can be found in annual grasslands, coastal scrub areas, all forest areas, on lawns, amongst ornamentals, and on roads. It breeds in the Presidio.

Frequency: This species is abundant all year.

Identifying Characteristics: The Mourning Dove is brown in color and is slimmer than the domestic pigeon (Rock Dove) with a pointed tail bordered with large spots. It tends to emit three, "cooo" sounds in a row.

Presidio Birds main page

Did You Know?

Jonathan Letterman

Major Jonathan Letterman--after whom the hospital at the Presidio was renamed in 1911--was the medical director of the Army of the Potomac. A founding father of military medicine, Letterman organized forward first-aid stations, mobile field hospitals, and ambulance services during the Civil War.