I am in Mesa AZ. The Eurasian doves have totally taken over the area. They are so abundant it borders on insanity. We can shoot them all year with no limits, so I go out nearly once a week all year round and shoot about 30 in 3 hours or less. Keeps my Doubleguns busy. Just curious if you all have Eurasion Doves in your areas?

Unfortunately we don't have that many. Here they are more like pigeons and stay close to town. We shoot a lot of them near peanut mills.

Adam

we have some but not that many. Shooting that many in 3 hours sounds like a ton of fun. Do you shoot them over waterholes, food crops or using another method?

Well for most close to me it is State Trust Land between 2 dairies. I have permission to shoot on the dairy so post up and
catch them moving between food and roost.

We are full of them in Texas but for the most part they're town birds and seldom venture into surrounding fields.

Plenty of 'em in Georgia. They're good to eat and make a nice bonus to a mourning dove shoot.

I made the mistake of mentioning once on here that although though they seem much larger than a mourning dove they're about the same size once breasted. The Texas boys all insisted one of their Eurasian doves would feed an entire extended family of starving relatives! Figures...Geo

I have a few nesting pairs in my neighborhood here in North Central Kansas. I haven't noticed them affecting the native morning doves numbers yet but they are listed as nuisance birds and can be shot without regard to limits.

Seeing more of them each year on our sunflower field. Several were taken yesterday on our season opener shoot. Seem to be a little tougher to bring down than the mourning doves, which would seem reasonable since they are half again as big. Well, maybe not half again as big, but noticeably bigger when I have cleaned them.

SRH

They are probably the most beautiful flyer I know of. Capable of incredible aerobatics. Mate for life.

We have them in Southern Utah and they are about the same size as our white wing dove, larger than any mourning dove and better flyers.

We can shoot them year round with no limits and we do just that by the hundreds........they are identified by a collar around their neck and the lighter overall color......

Our infestation is about the same as Arizona's.

In the vicinity of Dairies and stock yards are particularly good here AM and PM, and also grain fields everywhere.





The collared dove was introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s and spread from there to Florida by 1982. It has become invasive; the stronghold in North America is still the Gulf Coast, but it is now found as far south as Puerto Escondido and Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, as far west as California, and as far north as Alaska, Alberta, the Great Lakes, and Nova Scotia. Their relatively early presence in the Cancún area may suggest they arrived there overwater. Some of the more distantly dispersed records may refer to local escapes from captivity. It's impact on other species there is as yet unknown; it appears to occupy an ecological niche between that of the mourning dove and the rock pigeon (also an invasive species in North America).

In Arkansas (United States), the species was recorded first in 1989 and since then has grown in numbers and is now present in 42 of 75 counties in the state. It spread from the southeast corner of the state in 1997 to the northwest corner in 5 years, covering a distance of about 500 km (310 mi) at a rate of 100 km (62 mi) per year. This is more than double the rate of 45 km (28 mi) per year observed in Europe.

We see many in town and a few in the fields. They can be spotty with one locale having quite a few and a couple of miles away none.

Need to get bigger strips of bacon for those larger breast on the grill.

We have them up here in Eastern Iowa as well. They mix right in with the Mourning Doves. I feed'em well into the Winter, until we finally get a real Arctic blast that sends them all south.

Saw and shot a lot more Euros in Yuma this year than last. Generally a lot bigger than whitewings and much slower flyers than either mourning or whitewing. No aerobatics, just basically straight line flight with slower wingbeat. Shot one bird that I put into my mourning dove pile and when I started to clean the birds I noticed a faint collar and odd wing color. It appears that there is some interbreeding going on.

Colorado has them and they tend to winter-over here. As has been mentioned previously, they seem to avoid the more-rural areas (with a few exceptions) and hang around suburbia where they can't be (legally) hunted. They are not impervious to air-guns, however. Year-round sport if you're so-inclined. So-far, I haven't been. They remind me too much of pigeons.

There are some who think it may be trying to fill the niche left by the Passenger Pigeon. Quite possibly the most numerous warm blooded species the planet has ever known; wiped out by man.

We have plenty here in E Texas, in fact have had a nesting couple in an oak tree in the yard.

I first became acquainted with them back in 1972-74 when I was stationed over in Izmir, Turkey while in the USAF. We had plenty in town, and in the fall we would go just outside town, around the bay to some granaries and they were so thick you could burn up two or 3 boxes of shells in a matter of minutes, and come home with a good bag. They were very tasty.

They are largely 'town birds' as others have stated, but they will also nest in rural areas around farms and such. For sporting opportunities its probably best to find where they are going to feed and once those areas are located then you can position yourself for some good pass shooting between 'town' & the feeding fields w/o overly disturbing the birds. Where there are large concentrations, they act like feral pigeons and tend to fly in flocks.

BTW, they are larger than a white wing & they eat just fine. Leave at least one wing feathered until you get home; it eliminates any hassle or question about what kind of dove it is that way should you ever get checked, year round.

When grilling breasted birds, try a thin slice of onion inserted next to the breast bone on each side, half a jalapeno seeded & pithed stuck down between the onion slices and a bacon wrap. Skewer 'em up about four to a metal shish kabob or pre-soaked bamboo stick on a hot covered grill. Stick one dry tooth pick in one of the breasts and use it as a thermometer; when the tooth pick is burnt pull the birds, they are done. That method works equally well on mourning dove, white wings & euros.

kind regards, tw

And drizzle them with a little teriyaki just before they come off the grill. Plate with a bit of ginger and a sprinkle of cilantro, maybe a few toasted sesame seeds.

The Eurasian dove and the white wing dove we have shot for years here in Utah and in Arizona both are generally the same size. The adult white wing is often larger. The Eurasian dove has longer tail feathers. For body size here and in Arizona, both are the same, if both are adult birds and not half breeds.

White-winged Doves are large, plump doves at 29 cm (11 in). Most populations of White-winged Doves are migratory, wintering in Mexico and Central America.

Eurasian is a medium sized dove, distinctly smaller than the wood pigeon, similar in length to a rock pigeon but slimmer and longer-tailed , and slightly larger than the related turtle dove, with an average length of 32 cm (13 in) from tip of beak to tip of tail. Juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris.

The collared dove is not wary and often feeds very close to human habitation and often the largest populations are typically found around farms where spilt grain is frequent around grain stores or where livestock are fed. It is a gregarious species and sizeable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain (its main food) as well as seeds, shoots and insects. Flocks most commonly number between ten and fifty, but flocks of up to ten thousand have been recorded.

Interesting that some are describing the bird as very acrobatic and fast and others not so much. My experience with them is they are relatively easy to hit compared to Mourning Doves. Their flight tends to be much straighter and level with slower wing beats. First ones I took, and many since, have been doubles. I understand they have multiple broods each year, as many as 6 to 8 in some areas, which is how they colonize areas. I fear they will be come a major blight for agriculture. One other trait we have observed is they seem to arrive later in the morning than the other doves here. Has anyone else noted this late arrival in your area?

My observation around Yuma is that the Euros start a bit later in the morning than do the mourning doves, but keep moving until a bit later in the day. The latest starters are the whitewings, often as much as an hour+ after the mourning doves.

Near subject ramble, not an argument, thanks .. based on my experiences, the Eurasian dove that we see tend to be larger than the white wings when both are in hand. They have a distinct silvery colour to them w/a pinkish blush close to what is seen on a morning dove. Perhaps we are seeing & taking immature white wings, I dunno. I have not noticed any white wings with fat on them when breasted, but many of the Eurasians will have some, so perhaps they are feeding better? Both are 'in town' birds. I have mourning dove, white wings, white-tipped & inter-bred collared dove that visit the feeders at the house. We put out a few hundred pounds of feed per annum at the house, the squirrels, possums & raccoons seem to get at least half of it. I only see the occasional feral pigeon or Eurasian in the back yard & they seem to be coming in to water on a small decorative ground level pond w/a fountain, rather than to feed. I used to frequently shoot white wings in Mexico years ago, but I never had a Eurasian in hand at that time to compare those birds with. Many of the mourning dove we've taken so far this year are immature or this year's birds. Here, there are also white-tipped dove & they seem to be smaller than a white wing, but a bit larger than a mourning dove. We mostly hunt dove in the afternoons, leaving the birds alone to pursue their morning routines undisturbed. In strong winds any of them can do some interesting and elusive antics & birds shot at previously can 'jink in a blink' and beat you & that includes feral pigeons. The pigeons or "paloma grande's" in South America are as wary as any bird out there. They don't appear to be going all that fast, but you'd best double whatever your brain is telling you about lead if you wish to hit one.

FWIW, I never saw a white wing north of the Texas valley until the early 70's and then I saw one in San Antonio around 1972. That was about the time that some of the drag chaining & root plowing began on the south side of the Rio Grand. Today, most of the scrub in that part of Mexico is long gone and producing vegetable crops w/irrigation. I don't know how far north the white wings have migrated, but they are present in the Texas panhandle today.

I don't recall the first time I began to see the Eurasian's out & about in W. Texas, but it has been at least six or more years ago. I've had some smaller grey colored ring-necked dove here in town since the mid seventies & they interbreed with the morning dove.

I don't know about the Utah Euros, but take a look at the pic below. All were shot last Monday near Yuma, with .410 skeet loads, pass shooting over open ground. The two front rows are Euros, The back row is mournings on the left and a few whitewings on the right. Significant size advantage to the Euros. There were seven guys on that shoot, so multiply that sample size by about seven. The biggest whitewing of the day was about the same size as the smallest Euro.

The Eurasian birds look at least twice as big as the Mourning doves I shoot. My recollection of Whitewings from my Mexico shooting days is that they were about a Mourning dove and a half.

Even breasted, the Whitewing's breasts are 1 1/2 times the size of Mourners. However, the Eurasian birds I shoot end up having breasts a little longer but not really any bigger at all than the Mourning dove. The size difference all seems to be wingspread and tail to me.

Would anyone happen to have a photo similar to the one Replacement posted above of the breasted doves divided by species?...Geo

We have them in north Florida. I first started seeing them along the gulf coast and around twenty years ago I began seeing more of them inland.

With reference to size, I have both adult white wings and Eurasian doves coming to the feeder in the yard. I believe the Eurasians are a little larger which is confirmed by the pecking order. The White Wings yield to the Eurasians despite putting up some pretty good resistance at times. Perhaps there is little actual difference in size but these Eurasians appear a little larger.