Expert: Roger Lederer - 8/26/2008

Question
Where do mourning doves go to sleep, in trees or on a rooftop somewhere?  The couple that I've been watching here in Houston, Texas have been raising chicks all summer, they're on the 4th batch, but the female seems to have disappeared, leaving the two new chicks alone for the past two nights.  The dad is coming and going all day long and feeding them well, but he won't stay the night so I just wondered where he sleeps and why he won't stay with the chicks since mom probably isn't coming back.  Thanks for your time.

Answer
I can't tell you exactly where he sleeps - probably in a tree branch.Both male and female mourning doves share in incubating and feeding their young. Incubation lasts 14 to 15 days. Young mourning doves are fed regurgitated food by both parents. For the first 3 to 4 days after hatching the young are fed only crop milk, an energy rich substance that is produced in the crops of both male and female parents. After that time, parents begin to add more seeds to the regurgitated food until they are fed only regurgitated seeds by the time the young leave the nest. Female mourning doves feed the young most during the first 15 days after hatching but after that males take over the responsibility for feeding the young. The young continue to stay near the nest and beg for food after they have fledged, but can survive on their own after 21 days old if there is food nearby.