1. ON THE WINGS OF A DOVE… facts and opinions
A NON-FICTION WRITING LESSON
By Donna Hambright

2. Epigraph
"The difference between fiction and nonfiction is that fiction must be absolutely believable.“
Mark Twain

3. Non-fiction Films and Documentaries
Types of Non-Fiction
Almanacs
LECTURES
Autobiography /Biography
Blueprints
Natural History
Book Reports
Diagrams
PHOTOGRAPHS
Diaries, Journals, and Memoirs
Research Papers
Dictionaries
Non-fiction Films and Documentaries
SOUND RECORDINGS
Scientific Articles
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
ESSAYS
Guides and Manuals
Handbooks
TEXTBOOKS
History Books
travelogues
WORKS OF ART
Letters
Journalism (News reporting)

4. FOR DISCUSSION WHAT IS NON-FICTION WRITING?
WHY SHOULD YOU LEARN TO WRITE NON-FICTION?
WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A NON-FICTION WRITER?

5. WHAT IS NON-FICTION WRITING?
Non-fiction writing is meant to educate, persuade, report or explain.
Non-fiction writing may or may not be entertaining, but it must be truthful and accurate.

6. WHY SHOULD YOU LEARN TO WRITE NON-FICTION?
STUDENT RESPONSE: As I complete my schooling, and as I go through life, non-fiction is the type of writing I will use most often. Non-fiction writing will help me become a better communicator; thus, improving my skills as a non-fiction writer will help me EXPLAIN the things I know and EXPRESS the way I feel about the things I experience.

7. WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A NON-FICTION WRITER?
Use facts, not rumors, myths or illogical reasoning, to support your writing.
Share your opinions honestly, but be kind and fair.
Give credit to your sources of information using Modern Language Association (MLA) format.
Visit:

8. FACTS AND OPINIONS ABOUT MOURNING DOVES

9. Common names: MOURNING DOVE TURTLE DOVE CAROLINA PIGEON RAIN DOVE
Scientific Name: Zenaida macroura

10. The Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) is the most common species of dove found in North America. They are considered fair game in the United States and Canada; thus, they are hunted both for meat and for sport. The number of individual Mourning Doves in North America is estimated to be approximately 475 million.

11. What is the difference in a dove and a pigeon?
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae, which includes about three hundred known species. Therefore, in general terms, "dove" and "pigeon" are interchangeable terms.

12. COLUMBIDAE COUSINS
PIGEONS
MOURNING DOVES

13. A dove is, in fact, a small pigeon
A dove is, in fact, a small pigeon. The only difference between a dove and a pigeon is size and color. Most Mourning Doves are grayish-brown in color; the male and female are almost identical. Mourning Doves have graceful, pointed tails edged in white.

14. The Tragedy of the Dodo
dodo n., (Raphus cucullatus) an extinct flightless bird of the greater pigeon family, once a native of the island of Mauritius. Discovered 1598, extinct by 1681.

15. Article of Interest
Rare Dodo Remains Discovered in Mauritius.

16. as if mourning for the lost dove.
Another remarkable feature of Mourning Doves is their monogamous nature. Mates stay together for life and become very devoted parents. After a life-bond between a mated pair has occurred, a widowed dove is known to sit alone and cry,
“woo OO oo oo oo,”
as if mourning for the lost dove.
BIRD SONG: woo-OO-oo-oo-oo

17. Allopreening
Mutual preening and grooming the feathers of one bird by another is often a part of courtship or pair bond maintenance.

18. Typically, the hen will lay two eggs, producing one or two viable squabs per brood.

19. Use the illustration to determine the size of these specimens.
NC 3:04 Use many types of sources: photographs as non-fiction
DOVE EGGS
Use the illustration to determine the size of these specimens.

20. Dove chicks are called “squabs” and the learn to fly at about five weeks. At that time they are old enough to leave the nest. Often, older siblings will help care for the next brood of squabs.

21. OPINION: Do you think this squab is beautiful or ugly? Sweet or creepy?

22. Both parents incubate and feed the young squabs
Both parents incubate and feed the young squabs. In warm regions, one mated pair may raise up to six broods each year.

23. The young are fed “crop milk,” which is regurgitated by their parents
The young are fed “crop milk,” which is regurgitated by their parents. Crop milk consists of partially digested seeds and berries mixed with the digestive juices of the parent. Mourning Doves eat seeds and berries exclusively, but they drink water by sipping – a remarkable accomplishment for birds.

24. Zenaida macroura
The wings of the Mourning Dove [makes or make?] an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing. An average female bird is capable of speeds of 55 M.P.H. or more, but an adult male’s burst of flight can be 70 M.P.H.

25. NC 3:04 Use many types of sources: works of art as non-fiction
Mourning dove imagery also turns up in works of art and literature. For example, the Mourning Dove appears as the Carolina Turtle-Dove on plate 286 of Audubon’s famous collection of paintings called BIRDS OF AMERICA.
Audubon’s painting of the
Carolina Turtle-dove or Carolina pigeon as seen on page 246 of his famous work, BIRDS OF AMERICA.

26. NC 3:04 Use many types of sources: sound recordings as non-fiction
BIRD SONG: woo-OO-oo-oo-oo
“Mourning Dove." All About Birds: Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. Web. 26 Jul < >. Tyler, Winsor Marrett. "Mourning Dove." Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum Bulletin (1932): Print. <

27. FACT VS. OPINION Explicit Opinion = stated opinion
Implicit Opinion = unstated opinion

28. CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC: CLONING EXTINCT SPECIES
FACT: The Mourning Dove is considered to be the most closely related species to the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which was hunted to extinction in the early 1900s. For this reason, the possibility of using Mourning Doves for cloning the Passenger Pigeon has been discussed.
FACT: The Dodo was a pigeon. Viable samples of dodo bones will help scientists study and sequence the DNA of the Dodo in preparation for cloning!
OPINION: What is your opinion about cloning extinct species using an extant species, which is a close genetic relative?

29. HOW TO HANDFEED A BABY DOVE

31. BABY BIRD FORMULA Mac-MilkCrop Milk Replacer Recipe
1 jar strained chicken baby food
1 hard bolied egg
1 tablespoon low-fat yougurt
¼ teaspoon oil (sunflower, grape seed, olive, etc.)
Baby cereal (rice, corn, multi-grain, etc.)
For older birds, add small bird seeds until the baby can peck on it own.

32. VOCABULARY WORDS ABUNDANT MOURNFUL ACCURACY PIGEON ALLOPREENING
PIN FEATHERS
BROOD
REGURGITATE
COLUMBIDAE
SPECIES
CONSTITUTE
SPECIMEN
DOVE
SQUABS
EPIGRAPH
TAXONOMY
EXPOSITION
TRUTHFULNESS
EXTANT
WIDESPREAD
EXTINCT
WORLDWIDE
INTERCHANGE
VIABLE
MONOGOMOUS
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