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Mourning Dove

Species Name: Zenaida macroura
Seasons and Bag Limits: 2022-2023 Digest, Migratory Birds Section

  • Visit the Dove Hunting in PA  story map for a brief overview of species, habitat, and hunting the Mourning Dove in Pennsylvania.

Managed Dove Fields

Managed Dove Fields

Explore a map of managed dove fields on state game lands, dove hunting strategies and regulations, information on dove habitat management, and more...

Download and print a brochure about dove hunting regulation and field management. PDF (legal-sized paper). 

 Accordion



Expand AllClick here for a more accessible version

Related Links

Read this short blog post to learn what a decade of banding doves has taught us. 

Download mourning dove nest basket plans.

View a beginner's guide to backyard bird feeding.

Find Mourning Dove Banding reports under Wildlife Management Annual Reports by filtering by Game Bird and scrolling to reports numbered 55001.

Wildlife Health

Trichomoniasis is considered the most important disease of mourning doves in North America.

Upland gamebirds (e.g., mourning doves, wild turkeys), songbirds, and raptors can experience varying degrees of mortality due to avian pox.

Mourning doves, like many species of wild birds, intentionally swallow grit (e.g., small stones, sand) to help grind up larger food particles in their gizzards and aid in digestion. Spent lead pellets are of similar size to natural grit materials and, if ingested by wild birds, may result in lead poisoning. To protect mourning doves and other wild birds, voluntary use of lead-free shot is strongly encouraged when hunting mourning doves.