mourning dove

noun

: an American dove (Zenaida macroura) with a pointed tail and a plaintive coo

Examples of mourning dove in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Among the likely birds in Sacramento: house finch, mourning dove, crow, cedar waxwing, scrub jay, mockingbird, sparrow, goldfinch, junco and woodpecker. Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 Some of these, like the mourning dove, acted as non-learning controls. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Sep. 2023 The mourning dove has a very rhythmic, soothing coo. Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2023 Hunters killed approximately 11 million mourning doves in 2020 and 9 million the following year, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. John Heasly, USA TODAY, 6 July 2023 By far the most common, numerous, widespread, and important to hunters, is the mourning dove. Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 4 May 2023 That seasons in each of these states begin each year on the same date, Sept. 1, is borderline amazing, given the temperature extremes that prevail, north to south, on the opener in what the Fish and Wildlife Service calls its mourning dove Central Management Unit. Star Tribune, 3 Sep. 2020 The rising, fluty whistle of a mourning dove. BostonGlobe.com, 8 Apr. 2021 Woe to the hungry mourning dove. Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 27 June 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mourning dove.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mourning dove was in 1833

Dictionary Entries Near mourning dove

Cite this Entry

“Mourning dove.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mourning%20dove. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mourning dove

noun
: a dove of North America with a mournful call

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