I enjoy watching mourning doves, and find them to be quite elegant.

This one was close to our kitchen window, and was content to sit there through a variety of camera settings.

Since it was so close to me, I thought I could learn if it was a male or female from my bird book or from the internet.

I learned that it is difficult to tell them apart unless you spot a male and female together. The female is slightly smaller than the male.

One description was that the male doves have a light blue crown. The female is more evenly colored.

I think there may have been a slight breeze that caused the feather ripple on its face, because it is not on any of the other pictures.

If I was to guess, I would say this is a male.