Upland Bird
Zenaida macroura
Photo: Rhododendrites via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0) · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Conservation status
Least ConcernTag difficulty (general)
General license + stampsVaries by state and unit.
Methods generally used
Mourning doves are the most-hunted migratory game bird in North America — slim, fast, gray-brown birds with long pointed tails and a soft, mournful three-note coo that gave them the name. They're the September opener for a huge swath of the country, the bird that ends most American hunters' summer and begins their fall.
The species hunted as 'dove' is overwhelmingly the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), but in much of the southern US and the Southwest, two other doves are now significant components of the harvest. White-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) have expanded their breeding range dramatically since the mid-20th century and are now common across the southern tier from California to Florida. Eurasian collared-doves (Streptopelia decaocto) are an invasive Old-World species that arrived in Florida in the 1980s and have since spread coast-to-coast; many states do not count them against the daily bag limit because of their non-native status, and some do not classify them as game birds at all.
Doves are a sit-and-wait hunt — sunflower fields, harvested grain, gravel roads, stock-tank water sources in dry country. They fly fast, twist hard, and humble experienced wingshooters every September. Shot-to-bird ratios get talked about at length.
Mourning doves breed across all 48 contiguous states, southern Canada, and Mexico. White-winged doves occupy the southern US from California across to Florida and have expanded north. Eurasian collared-doves are now established across nearly all of the Lower 48 as a non-native invasive species. All three are managed under the federal migratory bird framework where hunted.
Agricultural country, suburban edges, mesquite and oak woodlands in the Southwest, and the seams between grassland and water. They feed almost entirely on small seeds — sunflower, millet, corn, weed seeds — and need open ground to feed on, gravel for grit, and a daily water source. Doves are heat-tolerant and thrive in country too hot and dry for most other upland species.
Shotgun is the standard. Pass-shooting from feed fields, water sources, and flyway corridors. Doves twist and accelerate; shooting them well takes practice. Light 20- or 28-gauge with #7.5 or #8 shot is standard. Non-toxic shot rules vary by state — some require it on public ground, some don't.
Legal methods, weapons, and seasons vary by state and unit — confirm with the issuing agency before you hunt.
Paul Danese via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0) · CC-BY-SA-4.0
4 states