Dove Management in Texas

B-6185 04/06 Dove Management in Texas Ben Taylor, Research Associate, Dale Rollins, Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist, and Jason Johnson, Associate Professor and Extension Economist-Management, Texas Cooperative Extension; Jay Roberson and T. Wayne Schwertner, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Nova J. Silvy, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University; Ricky J. Linex, United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service ove hunting is the traditional opening of the fall hunting seasons in Texas and is an important cultural event Dto hundreds of thousands of Texas hunters. Each year, about 400,000 hunters head afield in Texas in pursuit of doves. Dove hunting generates more hunting effort in the state Figure 2. White- than any other game species except deer. The accompanying winged doves can be tourism dollars from dove hunting are increasingly important distinguished from to rural landowners and communities. Figure 1. Mourning mourning doves by doves are the most their slightly larger Because of the economic potential of dove hunting in numerous dove species size and white bands Texas, increasing numbers of landowners and managers are found in Texas. (Photo on the wings. (Photo working to improve or establish dove-hunting enterprises. Such courtesy Texas Parks and courtesy of Bobby enterprises will be more successful if the managers know the Wildlife Department) Buntyn) biology and habitat needs of doves, the strate- gies for making a property more attractive to doves, shooting field management techniques Table 1. Native and introduced doves and pigeons found in Texas. and dove hunting regulations in the state. Common Scientific Residence name name status Doves of Texas Band-tailed pigeon Patagioenas fasciata Native Of the 10 species of doves and pigeons Common ground-dove Columbina passerina Native found in Texas, the two most numerous and Eurasian collared-dove Streptopelia decaocto Exotic economically important (Table 1) are mourn- Inca dove Columbina inca Native ing doves (Zenaida macroura; Fig. 1) and white- Mourning dove Zenaida macroura Native winged doves (Z. asiatica; Fig. 2). Although they Ruddy ground-dove Columbina talpacoti Native are similar in some aspects, mourning doves White-tipped dove Leptotila verreauxi Native and white-winged doves differ in distribution, White-winged dove Zenaida asiatica Native appearance and behavior. Distribution Figure 5. The Eurasian collared Mourning doves occur over most of North America dove is an exotic species that and breed in all 48 contiguous states as well as in southern has expanded dramatically in recent years. It is larger than Canada (Fig. 3). These doves winter in the southern United white-winged or mourning States, Mexico and Central America. doves and has a distinct black Figure 3. Mourning collar on the back of its neck. doves are one of the (Photo courtesy of Dale Rollins, most widely distribut- Texas Cooperative Extension) ed game birds. (From “The Birds of North Eurasian collared doves are more prolific than are the America,” No. 117, native species. These doves have been known to start a by R.E. Mirarchi, and second nest before the first young have fledged. They are T.S. Baskett. 1994. larger and more aggressive than are mourning doves and Philadelphia, Pennsyl- white-winged doves. Consequently, biologists are concerned vania) about the possible effects the exotic dove will have on native doves. Appearance Breeding Year-round Both mourning and white-winged doves are gray with Nonbreeding white undersides and white on the tips of their tails. The two species have three obvious differences in appearance: u White-winged doves have black wingtips and a dis- White-winged doves range from southern Texas and tinctive white band across the top of the wings. northeastern Mexico to the West Indies. Historically, they u White-winged doves are larger than mourning doves. nested in northern Mexico, the Lower Rio Grande Valley u In flight, the white-winged dove’s tail appears blunt, and the Big Bend region of Texas, but in recent years their and the mourning dove’s tail is long and tapered. range has expanded northward (Fig. 4). White-winged doves Population trends are currently found throughout Texas except for the East Mourning doves are among the most widely distributed Texas Pineywoods, and they are concentrated primarily in birds in North America. They have an estimated popula- urban areas. tion of 400 million birds, but their breeding population in- Although both species are gregarious (social), white- dex has declined at an estimated rate of 0.6 percent a year winged doves are more likely to be found in large flocks, (0.4 percent decline in Texas) since 1967. Banding records sometimes exceeding 50 birds. indicate an annual survival of mourning doves of 40 to 45 The Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto; Fig. 5) percent, with about 25 percent of the total mortality attrib- are an exotic species first observed in Texas in 1995. They uted to hunting. have since spread across the entire state. They are usually White-winged dove populations have rebounded from found in cities or in association with human habitations in a low of 110,000 birds in 1951 to an estimated population rural areas. of 2.2 million birds in 2002. More than half of the Texas Figure 4. White- population is believed to nest within the city limits of San winged dove distri- Antonio. This increase is attributed to a range expansion in bution in Texas was recent years. historically limited to It is difficult to estimate the population of white-winged the Rio Grande Valley, doves because they nest in colonies and their population dis- but their range has tribution tends to be clumped. Banding records for white- been expanded northward in recent years. winged doves indicate that the survival rate of this bird has (From “The Birds of dropped from 71 percent in the 1960s to 55 percent in the North America,” No. 1970s. 710, by T.W. Schwert- Behavior ner, H. Mathewson, Breeding J. Roberson, M. Small Both species of dove can travel up to 7 miles a day for Year-round and G. Waggerman. food and water, but they usually travel no more than 2 miles Nonbreeding 2002. Philadelphia, a day. A study in Arizona showed that some birds fly up to Pennsylvania) 50 miles a day to meet their needs. 2 Most white-winged dove populations outside the Table 2. Important seed-producing plants for doves in Texas. Rio Grande Valley are centered in towns and cities. Woody Grasses Forbs Cultivated These birds spend most of the day in their urban ref- uges and make feeding flights to nearby crop fields in Brazil Blue panic Annual sunflower Corn the mornings and evenings. Unlike mourning doves, Hackberry Colorado grass Croton spp. Grain sorghum white-winged doves typically do not frequent farm Pricklyash Johnsongrass Pigweed Oats ponds for water, but instead use standing water sourc- Sumac spp. Panic grasses Pricklypoppy Sunflowers es around towns to meet their water requirements. Wolfberry Plains bristlegrass Saw-leaf daisy Wheat Sorghum alum Snow-on-the-mountain Mortality factors Spurges Predation: Both dove species are susceptible Vetch to predation year-round, but especially during the Western ragweed nesting season. An array of animals prey on doves, including mammals, various snakes, great-horned owls (Bubo virginianus) and hawks such as Cooper’s hawk (Ac- u Doves are “pickers” not “scratchers,” so it is essen- cipiter cooperi). tial to have seeds on bare ground. Great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are considered The ideal food supply for mourning doves comes from to be serious nest predators on white-winged doves in South an early successional plant community, which is the plants Texas. that grow in an open environment where the tree cover has Weather and human disturbance: Because dove been displaced temporarily by natural or human distur- nests tend to be fragile and poorly built, high winds and bance. These areas are dominated by seed-producing grass- strong storms can destroy many nests, causing substantial es and annual broad-leaved plants, known as forbs. Doves losses during the nesting season. Also, human activities such also prefer to feed on areas where there is bare ground. as brush clearing and orchard maintenance can alter the Staples in the diet of mourning doves include the seeds habitat and reduce or destroy its usefulness to nesting doves. of weedy native plants such as sunflower, doveweed and Diseases: Doves are susceptible to several diseases, pigweed [the common and scientific names of all noncul- the most important of which is trichomoniasis. This disease tivated plants mentioned in this fact sheet are listed in Ap- is caused by a protozoan parasite (Trichomonas gallinae) that pendix 1]. resides in the mouth, esophagus and crop of many dove The seeds of woody plants are relatively unimportant, species. with some exceptions (such as lime pricklyash). Seasonally Virulent strains of this disease cause cheesy, yellow- important foods include the seeds of cultivated grains, espe- ish growths in the mouth and crop. These growths pre- cially wheat and milo. vent feeding and can eventually lead to death in mourn- White-winged doves: Compared to mourning ing doves. Although trichomoniasis has been known to kill doves, white-winged doves feed more on fruit, or “mast,” many mourning doves, mortality from this disease is rare in but they also feed on seeds. In South Texas, white-winged white-winged doves. doves feed on the fruit of granjeno, anacua, coma, colima, Common reservoirs of infection for trichomoniasis in brasil, privet and pigeon berry. Texas are bird feeders and deer feeders. To reduce trans- White-winged doves are especially fond of cultivated mission of trichomoniasis, clean and maintain these feeders crops, particularly milo and oilseed sunflowers.

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