Brown-headed cowbirds never build a nest, however, they lay their eggs in the nests of more than 220 species of birds. One of these species is the mourning dove.
It seems cowbirds rarely lay their eggs in dove nests. When a female cowbird lays her eggs in a dove nest it proves to be a poor decision. The doves typically damage or refuse to accept the cowbird eggs. If an egg is happens to be incubated, a cowbird hatchling cannot survive on the diet of crop milk mourning doves feed their young.
