The Hunt for Collared-Doves

Recently an acquaintance of mine where I work handed me the 2007 California Hunting Regulations booklet for Waterfowl and Upland Game. I'm not sure why- I don't hunt and neither does he- but he said I might find it interesting reading. Okay... so I looked through it. I must admit I was surprised to find among the expected list of bird species approved for hunting in California (waterfowl, quail, pheasant, etc.), the addition in 2007 of Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto). This somewhat recent addition to the avifauna of California is certainly expanding at an incredible rate and they seem to be everywhere now, but where exactly can one hunt for Collared-Doves in the wild? Where I live they seem only to be a denizen of the urban jungle where hunting is generally frowned upon. I digiscoped this Eurasian Collared-Dove in a local city park in January 2006. Photo © J. Chavez

Eurasian Collared-Dove