<P> Mourning doves show a preference for the seeds of certain species of plant over others . Foods taken in preference to others include pine nuts, sweetgum seeds, and the seeds of pokeberry, amaranth, canary grass, corn, sesame, and wheat . When their favorite foods are absent, mourning doves will eat the seeds of other plants, including buckwheat, rye, goosegrass and smartweed . </P> <P> Mourning doves can be afflicted with several different parasites and diseases, including tapeworms, nematodes, mites, and lice . The mouth - dwelling parasite Trichomonas gallinae is particularly severe . While a mourning dove will sometimes host it without symptoms, it will often cause yellowish growth in the mouth and esophagus that will eventually starve the host to death . Avian pox is a common, insect - vectored disease . </P> <P> The primary predators of this species are diurnal birds of prey, such as falcons and hawks . During nesting, corvids, grackles, housecats, or rat snakes will prey on their eggs . Cowbirds rarely parasitize mourning dove nests . Mourning doves reject slightly under a third of cowbird eggs in such nests, and the mourning dove's vegetarian diet is unsuitable for cowbirds . </P> <P> Like other columbids, the mourning dove drinks by suction, without lifting or tilting its head . It often gathers at drinking spots around dawn and dusk . </P>

What time of the year do doves lay eggs