Mourning Dove

After a walk at Beaverdam Flats on 25 February 2013, we drove a few streets away to see if we could find any of the four Mourning Doves that someone has in her garden. This one was hiding deep within the dense branches of a Spruce tree on the other side of the road. I only manage to get a cropped, grainy shot, but it still shows the beautiful colouring and feather patterns. The "mourning" part of its common name comes from its call.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_Dove

Did you know that "all members of the pigeon family (including doves) feed "milk" to their young. It isn't true milk - birds don't have mammary glands - but a nutritious liquid produced by glands in the bird's crop. The chicks insert their bills down the adult's throat to eat the thick liquid." From "Birds of Alberta" by Fisher and Acorn.