Sep 14, 2025

Mourning Dove Feeding Its Chick: A Backyard Birdwatcher’s Guide

If you’ve ever spotted a mourning dove feeding its chick in your backyard, you may have done a double take. Sometimes the chick looks nearly as big—or even bigger—than the parent! I remember the first time I saw it, I thought, Surely that can’t still be a baby. Then I laughed, realizing it was not much different from me cooking for my teenage sons, even after they’d grown taller than me.

This fascinating phase of bird parenting is worth understanding, especially if you’re new to backyard birdwatching or simply curious about how mourning doves raise their young. Let’s break it down.

How Do Mother Doves Feed Their Babies?

Unlike many songbirds that bring insects or seeds to their chicks, mourning doves feed their young a special substance called “crop milk.” Both the male and female produce this nutrient-rich secretion in their crop (a pouch in the throat where food is stored).

Here’s what happens:

The chick begs by pecking at the parent’s beak.
The parent gently opens its beak.
The chick inserts its bill and drinks the crop milk directly.

Crop milk is packed with protein and fat, which is why mourning dove nestlings grow so quickly. Within just a few weeks, those tiny downy fluff balls look like full-sized birds.

Do Doves Take Care of Their Babies?

Absolutely. Mourning doves are known as attentive and cooperative parents. Both the male and female take turns incubating the eggs—males during the day, females overnight. After hatching, they share the feeding duties as well.

Parents remain nearby even after the fledglings leave the nest, continuing to feed them until they can forage on their own. That’s why you might see a “baby” dove being fed even though it looks nearly the same size as its mom or dad.

How Long Do Mourning Dove Babies Stay in the Nest?

Mourning dove chicks grow fast:

Days 1–4: Exclusively fed crop milk.
Days 5–12: Parents begin mixing in seeds along with crop milk.
Day 12–14: Young doves are usually ready to leave the nest (fledge).

Even after they fledge, the parents may continue feeding them for up to another week or two. That’s when backyard birdwatchers often spot the amusing scene of a full-grown-looking chick still begging for food.

Are Mourning Doves Good Parents?

Yes, they’re among the most devoted backyard birds you’ll encounter. Mourning doves are prolific breeders, raising up to six broods per year in some regions. Their shared parenting, rapid chick development, and willingness to nest near human homes all speak to their adaptability and care.

Watching them feed their chicks offers a window into one of the most tender sides of bird life—an act of nurturing that continues even when the young appear ready to be independent.

Mourning Dove Feeding and Nesting in Your Backyard

If you’d like to see more of this behavior up close, the best thing you can do is provide a welcoming space:

Offer a platform bird feeder or scatter seeds (especially millet, sunflower, and cracked corn) on the ground, since doves prefer flat surfaces.
Provide a quiet nesting area such as a shrub or small tree near your yard.
Add a birdbath—doves rely on water sources daily.
For an even closer look at dove parenting, consider adding a Smart Bird Nesting Box with Camera. This solar-powered wooden birdhouse camera lets you watch mourning doves and other backyard birds raise their chicks without disturbing them.
Birdwatchers looking for the best smart bird house for nesting doves or a solar-powered birdhouse camera for backyard birds will find this option ideal—it’s designed for long-term outdoor use and provides incredible up-close footage of bird family life.

Ai bird recognition app for wooden birdhouse

Final Thoughts

Next time you see a mourning dove feeding its “oversized” chick, remember you’re watching a natural stage of bird parenting. Just like human kids, young doves rely on their parents long after they look grown up.

Mourning doves are gentle, devoted, and endlessly fascinating to observe. With the right setup in your yard, you’ll not only enjoy their soft cooing but also witness one of the sweetest examples of parental care in the bird world.

And if you’d love a front-row seat to it all, a smart nesting box camera gives you the perfect way to connect with nature every single day.