Lots of Mourning Doves at the feeders, but hadn't seen the following before 
yesterday.

Was watching two adult Mourning Doves on a tree limb. The female was 
crouched and fluttering her wings; sometimes taking short jabs at the male, 
who didn't seem to react. Suddenly, their necks began snaking around to the 
right & the left of one another; they appeared to be making short, preening 
motions around each other's heads and necks. Then, their beaks linked 
together and heads shook vigorously up and down several times. There was a 
brief pause, and the male mounted the female. They stayed on the branch 
together for a bit after that.

Found the section on allopreening & billing in Birds of North American 
on-line as Mourning Dove courtship behavior.

Elise Kreiss

Baltimore, MD