Mourning Dove

Mourning doves are abundant and found almost everywhere in South Dakota during the spring and summer breeding season. They are typically hunted early morning and at dusk as they travel from feed (often grain fields) to water and back.

Mourning doves are notoriously sensitive to cold weather and may migrate out of the state as the evenings grow frosty. Mourning doves spend their winters in warmer climates in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Biologists annually band mourning doves in South Dakota to learn about survival and movements. Mourning doves banded in South Dakota are commonly harvested in the Southern United States down to Central America.

Mourning dove hunters may also encounter Eurasian collared doves which are open to hunting year-round without a daily or possession limit.