I live in SW Utah and we have increasing numbers of the Eurasian Collared doves. We see some that are nearly all white, fairly frequently. Is this a normal variation? In Utah and Arizona they can be hunted all year, no limit and no license required. The problem here seems to be finding them away from houses, where shooting is allowed. What's your experience(s)?
TIA

I'd say they are continuing to expand/increase in most of the parts of Texas I'm familiar with. Here also, they seem to occupy a not-quite-wild niche and are much more common around human settlement; towns, feed lots, grain elevators, etc. Virtually all of the collared doves in my town are "pale tan" in coloration, but I've heard mention of the very pale ones.
If it turns out that they don't supress numbers of our native doves and pigeons, I kind of like 'em.

Jim, we've had them in Georgia in noticeable numbers for at least 20 years. Back in the '90s they moved into the downtown area of the city where I live and began colonial roosting in the beautification trees we had planted along the streets. At dusk, you can see droves and droves of them coming from all directions to roost downtown. The best thing about the collared doves is that they completely drove the Courthouse pigeons out of town.

We have the same rules as you do about shooting them; that is they are 'bonus' birds and not part of the mourning dove limit. They are pretty tasty...Geo

I kind of like 'em, too. They taste much the same as regular mourning doves to me. All the ones I've seen and shot around heah are pale grey.

I think the regulations in most states say you can shoot all you want DURING dove season, not year round. They definitely are a "town" bird.
JR

Hello All

In Texas, the Eurasian Collared dove has been documented in 134 of the 254 Counties in the State, including Dallam, Deaf Smith, Hansford, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Sherman, and Swisher counties. Currently, regulations concerning the Eurasian Collared dove are the same as for feral pigeons or Rock Doves. A hunting license is required, but there is no closed season or bag limit; however, local restrictions concerning discharge of a firearm do apply.

Enjoy the day
Mike

The Collared doves I have seen are pale grey.

I've been told that all the Collared Doves we have are the result of the white ones they release at weddings and football games. I see the white ones in pet stores sometimes.

After a few generations in the 'wild', they revert to what must be the original color phase. The biological niche they fill seems to compete with the Rock Doves (Courthouse Pigeons), and not with the native Mourning Doves...Geo

Hello All
More info

The first Eurasian Collared Doves in the Americas were brought to Nassau in the Bahamas from the Netherlands in the early 1970's a replacement for Ringed Turtle Doves (S. risoria). As always happens some escaped captivity in 1974 and quickly spread throughout most of the Islands. From there, doves immigrated from Florida in the late 1970's or early 1980's. The ensuing population explosion and expansion westward brought Eurasian Collared Doves Texas in the mid-1990's. At first, the expansion went unnoticed, due to the Collared Dove's similarity to the Ringed Turtle Dove. Today, however, the Eurasian Collared Dove occurs in several states within the U.S. as far North as Wisconsin and extends into Canada. This dove can even be found above the Arctic Circle.

Shoot well, my friend
Mike

We hunt a spot on the Rio Grande outside Brownsville where you can wind up with 5 different types of doves and pigeons in the bag: collareds, whitewings, whitetips, mourning doves, and barn pigeons! I'm amazingly consistent on all of them, about 7 shells per bird...

They've expanded rapidly across Montana in the past 5-6 years. I believe they can produce a couple of broods per annum. Along with house sparrows, starlings and rock pigeons they are not protected by federal law.

Watch out and don't shoot the Incas !

The ones I have been shooting in Arizona are almost the same color as mourning doves, but without the rosy breast. After observing them a few times, along with White Wings and Mourning Doves, it is pretty easy to pick them out. Slower wing beat, about twice the size of Mourning doves, a very light gray color from below. Something else we don't quite understand yet, they seem to be late sleepers where we hunt as they don't seem to show up until we have already limited out on the other doves. Taste the same as the other two. They are now starting to build up in my neighborhood and soon there will be enough to use my bedroom door blind and a very quite pellet gun to collect a few for the table year round. I use the same blind to hold down the pigeon population in the neighborhood. Haven't heard how they interact with White Wings and Mourning Dove populations but they eat the same food and the game biologist told us in AZ 6 clutches per year will be pretty normal. The grain farmers that think the White Wings are a plague will certainly think these are an epidemic eventually. Their flight is not as erratic as Mourning Doves so my average on them is actually pretty darned good.

I miss them often when they show up on a dove field because they are so much slower fliers that I over lead them. Same thing happens to my buddies and I in October when we start shooting crows in the pecan orchards as the nuts begin to open and fall. Crows fly so much slower than mourning doves that, after a month of dove shooting, we'll start out ahead of them and have to forcibly cut back on lead.

Have shot them in LA and AR, no limits
bill

They do seem successful at colonising new territory. I can remember seeing my first one here in England when I was a kid in the mid sixties. I couldn't find them in my bird book and wondered what it was at first. By the early 70's they were everywhere having spread over from continental Europe. They soon went on the shooting lists as a pest species. I have them in the garden and nesting regularly but of late the numbers seem to have stabilised and they are not as common as only a few years ago. They seem to found strong pair bonds and if you shoot one its mate will come looking for it. I dislike shooting them unless I can get both. Lagopus.....

We used to have lots of them in Seal Beach (northern Orange County, CA). But since I've actually lived here (as opposed to visiting in the '90s), I've only seen one. LOTS of mourning doves, but the ringed ones seem to be scarce. We do have lots of Cooper's Hawks, too; wonder if they had something to do with the thinning out of the ringed doves? Or maybe they just moved downtown to Long Beach....

Weak Ejector, you can take solace in the fact that "Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds" (or is it "short leads"?)!

The last several years I see them all year around here in Nor-Cal. They don't seem to have the same problem with cold, wet weather as the Mourning Doves do and don't bail for warmer climates, but hang around all year.
I even saw quite a few of them over at Tulelake this March, at 4500' elevation, with snow on the ground and temperatures getting down into the teens at night.

Its nice bird, but I saw them and shot down one just once at North-West of Russia. There are a lot of them at South of Russia and in Ukraine.

Are these the ones you are talking about?



JC

As SkeetTx said, they're very common in the Texas Panhandle. Primarily town birds that are given handouts by many townspeople. However, they do feed on nearby fields and provide great shooting. Early last season I found an area they particularly liked and shot well over 100 in less than 30 minutes. Was every bit as fast and furious shooting as the best of Argentina. A few years ago AmarilloMike and I found a real hotspot for them and during September we took well over 1,000 of these bonus birds. No, I don't feel guilty--they're directly competing with the native mourning dove and I think represent a real threat. Having said that they are a beautiful bird. Takes a lot of lead--I usually use #6 shot when hunting them.

Have seen them around small towns in N.W Utah and south central Idaho. As soon as you get away from the towns they are not around.

When I banded raptors along Lake Michigan, I used to "borrow" some of the Eurasian doves from the college biology dept. The accipiters and peregrines were highly attracted to that size decoy.

I am glad this topic came up.

It was Easter before last that I first saw one in my neighborhood. Actually heard it first. Their call sounds like a mourning dove that got a bad hormone prescription. I am pretty in tune to the local bird life, and am convinced they arrived suddenly on the scene. They have since spread throughout the town. I did a bit of research on-line wondering if they were going to compete with native doves or some other species. I did not find any ecological concerns, but cannot imagine that they are completely benign. It sure is tempting to pick one off with an air rifle as it sits on the street lamp across the street, squawking away. (It is not a pleasing coo.) So far, I haven't had the nerve. Not worth the risk of someone taking offense and calling the UN which would send in the 'blue helmets' to pick through my stuff.

Anyway, at least I know it is not just me that has noticed. Again, I am stunned at the suddenness of their appearance. Maybe this dove season....

Lou M

Season for them here in Ca. is the same as "regular" dove season, no bag limit.

Weak,

I've seen a few of these crazy doves but have yet to shoot one. Bound to get into Southern Illinois where I do most of my dove hunting eventually, just a matter of time.

DLH

That'd be an interesting twist Destry: Recently read your article about golden plover shooting in Scotland(?), this time around it'd be a european bird coming to your backyard! Lot less travel!

Wonder what happens when this invasive species gets into those states that ban dove hunting?

About three-four years ago, a game warden in CA near the AZ border told me there was some concern about the Eurasians cross breeding with mourning and white wings. Anybody heard anything about that?

Oh, brother! As if there weren't enough problems with illegal aliens cross breeding in CA already!

I know it, usually I have to fly thousands of miles and break the bank to actually shoot one of these unusual birds I'm after.

And sometimes I only get one chance and miss! Don't even get me started about that curlew in Northern Ireland.....

DLH

I live in Belgium and we see these doves in the mid 50th,now we have them all over the country and they increase.It is not allowed to shoot or hunt them, they are protected by law( for the moment). These doves are responsible to spread "cocsidiosis" because they come in contact with farm birds like chicken and in the wild with pheasants.

Eurasian Dove


Mourning Dove


White Winged Dove


In northern Illinois we now have resident populations of Eurasian and Mourning doves. 30 years ago, only the Mourning dove was resident and the Eurasian was never seen here. I see doves on a daily basis. If I put some millet in the bird feeder, they come in force.

The game laws, to the best of my knowledge, do not distinguish between them. Public and private hunting is available.


Pete

Aid in identification: the Eurasian dove is usually half again larger than either the mourning or whitewing dove.

Not after you clean them. Breast is just about even with the mourning dove;little longer, less robust. Take it from a carnivore...Geo

Wood pegion is the biggest one here. I got plenty of them near my cabin. Flight like lightning, real pleasure to shoot down one from the skies.

Huh? George, you ain't been shootin' these here Texas sized collared dove. Why, one of ours will feed a hungry family of four. Gospel truth 'n I ain't even been in the sauce t'day.

Hmmmm...TEXAS!...Geo

The ones we have shot over the last few years are generally bigger than whitewings, after cleaning. The largest whitewings breast out about the same as the smallest Eurasians. Good eating, especially in chili.

George, you sure you aren't shooting woodpeckers or starlings? All the Eurasians I breasted out are substantially larger than any Mourning Dove and easily larger than Whitewings too.

Yes, Geno, the good old wood pigeon. I shoot them over decoys usually in February and March when they come onto new crops. They can be shot here in England all year round with no bag limits. In fact there are some in my garden right now. Most sporting bird there is in my opinion as they can alter course in an instant and provide an enless variety of shots. Great shooting them coming in to roost in a high wind or falling snow. Lagopus.....

All I can figure is that those Eurasians you are shooting must have come through Texas on their way to Arizona. You know those Texas birds will feed a hungry family of four!...Geo

Lagopus, I have couple hunting videos about wood pegion shooting in UK and allways wonder why those pegions are so stupid to fly over decoys again and again. In our fields pegions usually sit on high trees and look into the fields very carefully, they got very sharp eyes. And when I shoot several pegions over decoys, they stop to fly over and change the place and I need to change place again and again. Maximum what I shot down was about 40 birds within couple hours, then all pegions about 3-4 hundred birds just flew away to the south, it was in fall.

Pigeons are pigeons. Doves are doves. A pigeon is not a bigger version of a dove.
JR

Not to stir the pot, but a pigeon is a 'rock dove' by every def I've ever seen. I'd say they are big tough doves. No offense meant, just a bit of clarification.

FWIW, squab [immature pigeon] eats as well as anything on the planet; they may even be the best tasting bird of them all. Squab are not game birds per se since they have yet to fly, but the taste is nonparriel for bird, IMHO.

Eating wise, even a mature mourning dove can be tough, so one should pay attention to whether or not the game bagged is young or old and prepare it accordingly for best results, at least that's been my finding.

I agree that the Euro dove are similar tasting to mourning dove and I detect no real dif if they are simply breasted and placed on the grill impaled w/ a bacon strip and sliced jalapeno.

kind regards, tw

Mother, in years long past, would have we two sons go down to the barn and rob the nests of squabs. Incredible dinner fare--the memories of those times are dimming but are always fondly recalled.

Geno, sometimes wood pigeon just want to commit suicide and I have had them fly in when I have been putting out the decoys and in full view. Another time they will not come in and be spooked by the slightest thing and change direction as soon as they spot the gun being moved. Sometimes easy; sometimes just about impossible but that's what makes them challenging. I would say that they would not make videos showing those days when they won't come in. Lagopus.....