DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — It’s cold now, and wet. Duncanville is just barely on the freezing line of the cold front so far, but conditions will continue to deteriorate through today and into tomorrow, we are told.

Twenty-four hours ago, the rain was gentle and the air was warm — almost 70 degrees.

A Mourning Dove across the parking lot caught my eye. It had its right wing extended skyward, like a semaphore. After a moment, it folded the wing, extended the left wing straight up and rolled slightly to the right, exposing the entire underwing (”wingpit”) to the falling rain.

Fascinated, I watched the bird repeat the action several times and then begin to preen. That it was cleaning its feathers was the only explanation I could muster.

Others have observed similar behavior in the species: Showering mourning dove and FeederWatch Stories > Bird shower.

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