A mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) rests on a branch in my yard this week during a grey drizzle. © BCP 2011
A couple of days ago, when it was so very terribly dreary — drizzly rain interspersed with freezing rain, broken up by pelting rain, then more Vancouver sunshine — I chanced to look out my back window. There, huddled down into the sturdy branches of my nearest weedy maple, were at least a half dozen mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), casually napping.
It’s easy as pie to tell when a mourning dove is napping — it’s all in the eyes.
I think the most distinctive part of these doves is their eyes, in fact. Well, not their eyes actually, which are deepest ebony. It’s their turquoise eyerings. Looks for all the world like they’ve been let loose in a child’s make-believe make-up box. Such an unusual colour for an otherwise slightly drab bird.
Don’t get me wrong. Even though their feathers are mainly slatey and light brown, in shades that remind me of a fine cashmere coat, they are most handsome. And even more so when their feathers are highlighted with rain drops, as you might be able to see in the pictures above and below. (In the top picture, you can just make out the super fine drops of rain in the dove’s shoulder area.)
Two mourning doves, part of a much bigger group resting in my yard this week.
Today we have sun, glorious sun — for a change. I wonder what spring secrets will unfold under Old Sol’s warming rays.
© BCP 2011
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