Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Mourning Doves

(Recording of a Mourning Dove)

Two weeks ago I did a Mourning Dove survey for the Fish and Wildlife Service. Mourning Dove numbers have been studied for many years, in part because these little birds are actually the number one game bird in the United States. Although doves are protected in 17 states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, about 30 million of them are taken in the other 31 states every year. In 1974 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the total Mourning Dove population in the United States and Canada at 400 million. Unlike crows, which are thrown away like garbage when they are shot, Mourning Doves are at least eaten by their hunters. They apparently have a pleasant taste, and weigh an average of 4 1/2 ounces, not much smaller than Cornish game hens.

Mourning Doves are popular eating with wild predators as well as humans. Not only are eggs and squabs stolen by snakes, raccoons, squirrels, grackles, jays, crows, and other predators, but adult birds are frequently hunted down by hawks and falcons. The feathers of Mourning Doves are so loosely attached to the skin that they drop out very easily–perhaps allowing the doves to flee at least some of their attackers.

The Mourning Dove received its common name from its plaintive call.

(Recording of a Mourning Dove)

I like to fancy that the dove is mourning for two of its relatives which were brought to extinction by mankind’s lust for blood. The Passenger Pigeon, which nested in the big forest regions of our area, was shot at in unbelievable numbers by market hunters when the railroad system made it possible to ship these tasty wild pigeons and their young, called squab, to restaurants in Chicago, New York City, and other fashionable markets. Passenger Pigeons were also destroyed by so called sportsmen’s clubs, which held competitions to see who could kill the most in a day.

The Mourning Dove is also in the same family as the Dodo, the flightless bird of Mauritius that was brought to extinction by sailors of the 1600’s who slaughtered it because it was a fun and tasty thing to do.

Every now and then people in our states decide to pass legislation making the Mourning Dove a game bird here. But Minnesota and Wisconsin are at the northern extreme of the Mourning Dove’s range, where doves are far less abundant than they are further south. It’s questionable whether the population of northern birds can support such a hunt. Also, many of our people treasure the dove as a symbol of peace and gentleness, and so there has always been opposition to hunting them on that basis. Mourning Doves are the closest living relative we have to the Passenger Pigeon, and perhaps they should be protected from modern hunters simply to maintain a living memorial to a species which past hunters irretrievably stole from the wild forever.

(Recording of a Mourning Dove)

This is Laura Erickson, and this program has been “For the Birds.”

(Date of recast not known)

Mourning Doves

(Recording of a Mourning Dove)

Three weeks ago I did a Mourning Dove survey for the Fish and Wildlife Service. Mourning Dove numbers have been studied for many years, in part because these little birds are actually the number one game bird in the United States. Although doves are protected in 17 states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, about 30 million of them are shot in the remaining states every year. In 1974 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the total Mourning Dove population in the United States and Canada at 400 million. Unlike crows, which are thrown away like garbage by most hunters, Mourning Doves are at least eaten by their hunters. They apparently have a pleasant taste, and weigh an average of 4 1/2 ounces, not much smaller than Cornish game hens.

Mourning Doves are popular eating with wild predators as well as humans. Not only are eggs and squabs stolen by snakes, raccoons, squirrels, grackles, jays, crows, and other predators, but adult birds are frequently hunted down by hawks and falcons, and are a favorite target of domestic cats. The feathers of Mourning Doves are so loosely attached to the skin that they drop out very easily–perhaps allowing the doves to flee at least some of their attackers.

The Mourning Dove received its common name from its plaintive call.

(Recording of a Mourning Dove)

I like to fancy that the dove is mourning for two of its relatives which were brought to extinction by the white man’s lust for blood. The Passenger Pigeon, which nested in the big forest regions of our area, was a bountiful source of food for native people, who coexisted with it for thousands of years. But within a few decades of building a railroad system, the white man destroyed the whole species. Market hunters shipped millions of these tasty wild pigeons and their young, called squab, to restaurants in Chicago, New York City, and other fashionable markets. And so called sportsmen’s clubs held competitions to see who could kill the most in a day.

The Mourning Dove is also in the same family as the Dodo, the flightless bird of Mauritius that was brought to extinction by European sailors of the 1600’s who slaughtered it just because it was a fun and tasty thing to do.

Every now and then people in our states decide to pass legislation making the Mourning Dove a game bird here. But Minnesota and Wisconsin are at the northern extreme of the Mourning Dove’s range, where doves are far less abundant than they are further south. It’s questionable whether the population of northern birds can support such a hunt. Also, many of our people treasure the dove as a symbol of peace and gentleness, and so there has always been opposition to hunting them on that basis. The Mourning Dove is the closest living relative we have to the Passenger Pigeon, and perhaps should be protected simply as a living memorial to a species destroyed forever by our greed.

(Recording of a Mourning Dove)

This is Laura Erickson, and this program has been “For the Birds.”