Mourning doves(Zenaida macroura) are widely distributed members of Columbidae (dove family). Current population estimates in North America put populations at roughly 350 million birds.
Mourning doves are relatively small, weighing up to 6 ounces in the wild with overall lengths and wingspans up to 17-18 inches. Mourning dove feeds primarily on seeds found on the ground, and are capable of drinking brackish water that is otherwise non-potable to other species.
Mourning doves are especially fecund, capable of laying eggs in clutches of one to three as many as two to six batches per breeding season.
Mourning doves can achieve speeds up to 45 miles per hour, and can be challenging game to hunt when combined with their ability to maneuver. Mourning doves are one of the most widely hunted game species in North America, with some 20 million birds taken annually.
Other forms of mortality to mourning doves are due to native and feral animal predation, and diseases like trichomoniasis that can be spread through the use of birdbaths and bird feeders in urban and suburban settings. Mourning doves are also potential vectors for West Nile Virus and avian influenza.
Mourning doves are regulated by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918), where hunting seasons and bag limits are set in the various states where dove hunting is permitted under the oversight and consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Researchers have attributed mourning dove ingestion of lead shot in upland game and shooting range situations as a justification to promote lead ammunition bans for hunting migratory upland game. Mourning dove hunting, however, tends to occur in restricted or fixed locations within small areas very attractive to this species (i.e. cultivated fields, fence-rows, water sources), which may not be representative of the ways other non-waterfowl species are hunted. While some claim that there is evidence that mourning doves ingest spent lead shot believing it to be food, in a study of two managed dove fields, it was determined that although large amounts of shot were deposited in the localized hunting areas, only a very small proportion may actually be available to feeding doves. Hunt for Truth is reviewing the variety of studies that have made claims related to the ingestion of lead ammunition for objective evidence of lead toxicosis in mourning doves.
