Doves of Central Texas

Mike Davis

Doves are among the most recognizable and numerous birds in Texas. The most common dove species in our area include Mourning Doves, White-winged Doves, Eurasian Collared-Doves, and Inca Doves. A 2023 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) survey reported a mourning dove population statewide of 28.3 million birds.

Mourning Doves

The mourning dove is one of seven species of doves and pigeons native to Texas. While other species of doves have rather restricted ranges in Texas, the mourning dove occurs throughout the state and is, in fact, the most numerous and widely distributed game bird in North America, with a continental population estimated at 500 million. This adaptable, migratory species nests throughout the contiguous 48 states, southern Canada, and northern Mexico, and winters in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Young doves grow very rapidly and leave the nest 10 to 14 days after hatching. The female often begins renesting immediately after the young leave the nest. Adult females may nest successfully as often as four or five times in a single season in warm southern climates.

Mourning dove populations have a very high mortality rate. Fewer than 50 percent of all nesting attempts are successful. High winds, rain, and hail destroy many mourning dove nests. Snakes, mammals, and avian predators prey on mourning dove eggs, nestlings, and adults. Accidents, environmental pollutants, parasites, diseases, and hunting also take a toll on mourning doves. Although banding records indicate a few individuals have lived as long as 10 years in the wild, only 40 percent of all the mourning doves hatched each year survive until the next breeding season, regardless of hunting pressure.

Mourning doves are exclusively seed-eaters. Their diet includes both native and introduced seeds. Native plant seeds particularly important to doves in Texas include sunflower, croton (also known as doveweed, goatweed, or teaweed), ragweed, and pigweed.

The White-winged Dove

Historically, the white-winged dove has nested primarily in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), with their distribution restricted to the sub-tropical to temperate environment. Within the last 20 years, however, a dramatic increase in nesting populations has increased throughout Texas and even into other states. The range expansion started during the 1980s, when citrus groves that had become major nesting areas for white-winged doves were decimated by killing freezes. Many of the citrus groves were never replaced, and an increasing human population in the LRGV has caused additional loss of habitat through development.

More recent TPWD dove surveys have shown a definite shift in the White-winged dove populations from the LRGV to regions farther north—specially in urban areas. Most of the nesting occurs within the cities. The nesting white-winged doves seem to prefer older, more established residential neighborhoods with large live oak, pecan, and ash trees. These areas, with their watered lawns and bird feeders, may offer White-wings better protection from predators and consistent food and water sources.

Eurasian Collared Doves

Eurasian Collared-Doves made their way to North America via the Bahamas, where several birds escaped from a pet shop during a mid-1970s burglary; the shop owner then released the rest of the flock of approximately 50 doves. Others were set free on the island of Guadeloupe when a volcano threatened eruption. From those two sites the birds spread to Florida and now occur over most of North America. Eurasian Collared-Doves are extremely successful colonizers and breeders, and scientists believe that they may be competing with native North American doves. When present in large numbers, they can discourage other species from using bird feeders, and may even aggressively defend these food sources, chasing other birds away. Eurasian Collared-Doves can also carry the disease-causing parasite, Trichomonas gallinae, which at feeders or birdbaths may spread to native doves or to the native hawks that feed on them. In Texas Eurasian doves are classified as an invasive species with no closed season or bag limits for hunters.

Inca Doves

This common Southwest species is one of the most desert-adapted of the family. Its plump body can survive both extreme heat and cold. They can go four or five days without drinking and fly 10 or more miles to reach a water hole. Inca doves seem to be increasing in areas of human disturbance. These seed-eating doves are common visitors to bird feeders. With their soft cooing calls, males’ strutting for females, and their regular use of bird feeders, Inca doves have quickly become back yard favorites. Inca doves are protected by law and are not hunted.

Dove Hunting in Texas

Each year between 300,000 and 400,000 dove hunters take to the field in Texas, producing an economic impact of over $300 million across the state. Second only to White-tailed deer hunters in numbers, dove hunters in Texas contribute to a burgeoning tourism scene and bring millions of dollars to rural communities every year. Many small towns and landowners eagerly welcome dove hunters and the economic boost from lodging, meals, and land access.

References:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7100_009a.pdf

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/incadove/

https://tpwd.texas.gov/documents/344/DoveStatusReport-2023.pdf

https://txtbba.tamu.edu/species-accounts/mourning-dove/