Mourning doves are identified by their small yet plump size, with short legs and a small bill. Their head also looks quite small compared to their body. Mourning doves have a long pointed tail that is distinctive when in flight. Compared to other doves, their tail is long, slender, and pointed.

Mourning doves have coloring that often includes iridescent brown and tan coloration, with black dots sometimes occurring on their wings. This coloration often helps them to blend into their surroundings.

Mourning doves are found all over the United States and Mexico, with their population extending into southern Canada and the Caribbean islands. 

Mourning doves prefer open or at least semi-open habitat, often including forest clearings, farms, and prairies. These birds can be found almost everywhere in residential areas and along roadsides, but they avoid dense, unbroken forest.

The diet of a mourning dove consists primarily of seeds, usually of grains in agricultural fields, as well as grasses, ragweed, and other native plants, as well as the occasional snail. They will often forage on the ground for food and prey items.

Mourning doves are monogamous. Male mourning doves will court the females and lead them to nest sites, where the female will choose the site she prefers most, typically ones that are high up in trees to build the nest.

The female will lay 2 eggs at a time, and she will incubate the eggs for up to 2 weeks and then the baby birds will hatch and require the care of both the mother and father for 2 more weeks. The male and female doves will raise up to 6 broods, so 12 young, a year.

The mourning dove gets its name from the cooing it does, as it can seem mournful.

The mourning dove is the most important game bird in the United States, with over 70 million birds being harvested each year. 

Mourning doves can also be called “turtle doves” which is heard in the Twelve Days of Christmas song.