Mourning doves are gentle, soft-cooing birds and among the most common in North America. Their diet is remarkably simple: they are seed specialists.
An almost all-seed diet
Mourning doves eat seeds almost exclusively — grass and weed seeds, grains, millet, sunflower and cracked corn make up the vast majority of their diet. Unlike many birds, they eat very few insects. They quickly swallow seeds into a crop and digest them later, often while resting somewhere safe.
How mourning doves feed
Doves are ground feeders. You will see them walking and pecking beneath feeders, cleaning up fallen seed, rather than perching on a hanging feeder. They often feed in pairs or small groups and are calm, unhurried visitors.
How to attract mourning doves
Because they feed on the ground, scatter seed on a ground or low platform feeder — millet, cracked corn and black-oil sunflower are all popular. A source of water and some open space where they can watch for predators will keep them coming back.