Photo and article by San Veliz
In between the hustle and bustle of the city with towering concrete buildings, it’s easy to miss the bits of nature peppered throughout.
Toronto has a lot of different species of bird flying through; in some areas, you will see crows, herons, and even some varieties of hawks. But the most common species you’ll see are geese, robins, pigeons, and mourning doves (Zenaida macroura).
Caught sitting on telephone wires before it had started raining on a Saturday afternoon, I almost would’ve missed it if it weren’t for its iconic call. People often mistake the mourning dove’s call for an owl’s hoot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oNljd7R1f8 (coming in at the 15 second mark.)
Mourning doves can be found throughout the United States, some southern parts of Canada, and even Mexico.
If you’re someone who believes in animal messages, it is said that when you are visited by a Mourning Dove, you are being visited by someone close who has passed on.