Mourning Doves are so adaptable. They breed on top of sun exposed cacti in the pristine desert, but I also had a pair in the tiny patio area of my very first Tucson apartment. They raised their 2 chicks in a flower pot and afterwards started right over - up to 5 times a year. I called the painting originally ' Keeping an eye on the alien'. At the time my I was on a J -Visa and and frequent questioning by border patrol agents was still upsetting to me. But when I entered the painting in a show, it was rejected. Later it won an award in a different setting. Go figure. I had changed the title, but that may not have been the reason.
As an afterthought: Today, but not in the early nineties when I painted this, our local doves, Mourning and White-winged, really have to compete with alien invaders. The Eurasian Collared Doves are pushing them out of several prime nesting sites in our backyard as we speak.