Sitting Mourning Dove

Last March I met a Mourning Dove sitting on the ground and who didn't fly away when I approached. As often happens, I can't say I know exactly what was going on. The bird didn't appear to be hurt, another Mourning Dove was walking around, perhaps foraging, but this 1 was just sitting there.

I think we can rule out that the bird was incubating eggs. Although there are differences of opinion on whether they nest on the ground (Audubon says yes, Wild Bird Watching says no) their nests aren't supposed to be so small that the bird would entirely cover it. Perhaps I interrupted a courtship ritual, and the birds hoped I'd have the social grace to awkwardly depart? Maybe that's the choicest location to sit in the grass by some dove reasoning? 

March 22, 2023 at the Raritan River Greenway
Photo 269153514, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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