Mourning Doves are common birds across North America, frequently visiting suburban backyards and outdoor feeding stations. Their diet consists almost entirely of seeds, making them frequent visitors where birdseed is dispensed. Black Oil Sunflower (BOS) seeds are popular due to their high caloric content and appeal to many species. People often wonder if the Mourning Dove is physically equipped to consume this particular seed.
Mourning Doves and Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
Mourning Doves consume Black Oil Sunflower seeds, but their feeding mechanics limit how they access the food. Unlike birds such as cardinals or finches, doves possess a soft bill that lacks the muscular strength necessary to efficiently crack open the hard outer shell of a whole BOS seed. They cannot hold and manipulate the seed to strip the hull away before swallowing the kernel.
The dove typically swallows the seed whole, including the shell, or consumes seeds already shelled or cracked by other birds. They are often seen foraging beneath elevated feeders, picking up fragments and dropped seeds left behind by species with stronger bills. BOS kernels are rich in fat and protein, providing a significant energy source. To make BOS seeds more accessible, offering hulled or “no-mess” sunflower chips ensures doves can efficiently ingest the nutrition without the shell barrier.
Preferred Seed Types and Feeding Styles
The Mourning Dove is primarily a ground feeder, preferring to forage on flat, open surfaces. This preference stems from their habit of searching for fallen seeds in open fields and sparse ground cover. Their body shape and relatively short legs make it difficult for them to perch comfortably on small, swinging feeders, so they are most at ease walking on a platform or tray feeder.
Beyond sunflower seeds, doves favor smaller seeds that are easier to swallow without extensive processing. Preferred food sources include white millet, red proso millet, and cracked corn. Safflower seeds are also readily accepted and often consumed shell and all. These small grains can be rapidly consumed to fill the crop, minimizing the time the bird spends exposed to potential predators while feeding.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet for Doves
While BOS seeds offer high caloric density, a balanced diet for Mourning Doves requires variety and specific physical aids for proper digestion. Since their diet is nearly 99 percent seeds, their internal mechanisms are specialized for processing hard plant matter. Doves lack teeth, so they must consume small, hard particles known as grit, which are stored in the muscular gizzard.
The grit, consisting of tiny stones or shell fragments, functions like millstones to physically grind the tough seed coats and kernels in the gizzard. This process allows for the efficient breakdown and absorption of nutrients from seeds swallowed whole, including millet and whole BOS seeds. Doves require a constant supply of clean water, as they are one of the few bird species that drink by sucking water straight up. They also require water to stay cool through panting in warm weather.