A Mystery! What is this dove doing???
Cleon watched this Mourning Dove at our large bird bath for two days. Both days, the dove got into the center of the birdbath and then stretched one wing out and up – vertically – perpendicular to its body. Then it did the same with the other wing. And the bird held both wings outstretched like this for almost a minute on each side.
Cleon took these photos and timed the wing stretches the second day. After the bird folded its wings and righted itself, it walked to the edge of the birdbath, hopped up on the rim, and flew to a nearby branch where it sat and preened a bit. We never saw a dove – or any bird – behave in this way.
What is this bird doing? Cleon and I do not know – except that maybe this just felt good! There is just nothing like a good stretch, is there? Especially after a hard day! So ……. What do you think? What is this bird actually doing – and why?
If you have any thoughts or have witnessed either a Mourning Dove or any other bird behave this way – particularly in a birdbath – please use the Public Forum to tell us.