During my sessions of bird watching, I generally see a number of different species, and one thing I really enjoy is watching their behavior. One of the things that is usually pretty easy to observe is their level of aggression, both to others of their own species and towards other species of birds. Doves in general have a reputation for being nonaggressive, both with other doves and with other birds. There are two types of doves that frequent my feeding stations and their personalities are quite different. The little common ground doves usually come by in groups, but they can be fairly combative with each other, although they aren’t generally aggressive to other birds. The larger mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) are more shy and usually show up either singly or in pairs. They are quite peaceful both with each other and with other birds. If squabbling is going on, they usually leave. Often when they arrive they will perch in the surrounding trees and wait for the other birds to leave before they even attempt to eat. That’s what this one was doing. It’s one of a pair that come around almost every day. This one is the bolder of the two and will stand watch, and come down to eat first. I assume from this behavior that it’s the male, but I don’t know for sure. The other usually stays a little further away and waits for the bolder one to feel comfortable. Then she will fly down and join him. If other birds act aggressively towards them, they simply leave. I have actually never seen them do anything else. The other day one of the hummingbirds, by far the most aggressive species on the property, chased off both of the doves. It was actually very funny watching this tiny little hyperactive bird fly back and forth behind the much larger and slower doves, poking at their tails as they flew away.