The male will bring the female the nest materials one piece at a time. The nest materials consist of twigs, pine needles and weed stems. The female will build a loosely constructed nest that is approximately five inches in diameter. Nest building can take up to one week to complete. Two eggs will be laid on consecutive days.
Incubation starts just before or after the last egg is laid and is shared by both parents.
Typically the male will incubate the nest from morning to evening and the female from evening until morning. If the dove is frightened off during incubation, it will fly to a nearby tree. The eggs will hatch 14 days after being laid. The young might differ in size because they will hatch days apart. The adults will produce pigeons milk to feed the newborn birds.