mourning dove


noun

a dove, Zenaidura macroura, of North America, noted for its plaintive cooing.

Origin of mourning dove

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example sentences from the Web for mourning dove

  • Our American turtle-dove, or mourning-dove, is much like this but nobody minds the few bits of grain it picks up.

  • She awoke at the cry of a jay in the maples, and then as she listened she heard a mourning-dove sob from the distance.

    Rose of Dutcher's Coolly |Hamlin Garland
  • Our most familiar wild species is the mourning-dove or turtle-dove (Zenaidura macroura) found abundantly all over the country.

British Dictionary definitions for mourning dove

mourning dove

noun

a brown North American dove, Zenaidura macroura, with a plaintive song