Two much-studied behaviors of mourning doves are their monogamous mating and their widespread migration patterns. Migration orginates in the breeding grounds and continues to the sourthern areas where the doves go to escape the harsh winter months. During migration the birds fly over 1000 of miles through hostile environmment to reach their winter resting spot.

Mourning doves eat a wide variety of seeds, waste grain, fruit and insects. They prefer seeds that rest on the gound. Occassionally, they eat in trees and bushes when the ground foods have become scarce. 95% of the mourning dove's diet relies on seeds or plant parts. Doves also like to ingest agricultural crops. Those especially coveted are cereal grains such as corn, millet, rye, barley, and oats. On rare occassions, doves can also be seen preying on grasshoppers, ants, beetles, and snails.

Mourning doves are monogamous. Furthermore, some of these pairs stay on as couples thru the winter. After finding a mate, the male initates the nest selection site. Nest construction takes over ten hours and covers a span of three to four days. The female generally lay two small, white eggs in an open nest. Incubation lasts 14 tgo 15 days. Both the male and the female share incubating and the feeding of the babies.