This is the mother dove of the nesting pair. The two doves take turns caring for their squabs. The male oversees the nest during the day and the female at night.

They follow a ritual where one of the pair will arrive on the rooftop across from my patio. After a few moments the nesting parent will fly away from the nest. Shortly afterwords the arriving parent will fly to the deck railing and stay there watching the nest. This will last about 5 minutes. Eventually, they will fly to the nest and feed the pair and care for them for the next several hours.

This photo was taken shortly after the female flew to the railing, and was waiting to go on to the nest.