# ground doves



## mcduckman (Aug 31, 2010)

Are the smaller common ground-dove legal to kill in Georgia


----------



## GA DAWG (Aug 31, 2010)

If its a dove..Kill it


----------



## basstrkr (Aug 31, 2010)

I don't know if you're serious or not but if you mean the smaller low flying turtle dove then the answer is 'no". There are plenty of them but last I understood they're still on the endangered list.


----------



## Walkin Hunter (Sep 1, 2010)

I have 3 family members that are game wardens and as of last year it is still ILLEGAL to kill ground (turtle) doves.


----------



## flybum84 (Sep 1, 2010)

I talked to a game warden last year and asked him about some small doves I'd seen on ft benning. he told me that there are a few species of dove and thought the ones I tried my best to explain were called rock dove. he said they are fine to shoot and count as your limit of 15.
 He never told me of any that are illegal to shoot. he also reminded me that collared doves can be shot year-round and the have no limit. but you can never go wrong with calling and talking to a game warden in your area. In fact after hearing there is an endangered dove here I think I will tomorrow. like I said the one I talked to last year never mentioned any being illegal to maybe he forgot or maybe it's just the area.


----------



## goose buster (Sep 2, 2010)

The ones that were at Blanton Creek last year were illegal to shoot.Thats what  Mike the GW told me.


----------



## Danny Leigh (Sep 2, 2010)

basstrkr said:


> I don't know if you're serious or not but if you mean the smaller low flying turtle dove then the answer is 'no". There are plenty of them but last I understood they're still on the endangered list.



What dove in GA is on the endangered list? The GWF has a list of birds in GA with only the Common Ground Dove and the Morning Dove as being native to GA and it says nothing about the Common Ground Dove as being endangered.

http://www.gwf.org/resources/georgiawildlife/birdindex.html

I certainly wouldn't shoot the small doves on purpose. We did see a few last year at Redlands and it was pretty easy to tell that they were not morning doves.

As to whether they are legal or not... who really knows. As far as I know the regs say nothing about morning dove being the only dove legal to take. It just says dove.


----------



## LEON MANLEY (Sep 2, 2010)

flybum84 said:


> I talked to a game warden last year and asked him about some small doves I'd seen on ft benning. he told me that there are a few species of dove and thought the ones I tried my best to explain were called rock dove. he said they are fine to shoot and count as your limit of 15.
> He never told me of any that are illegal to shoot. he also reminded me that collared doves can be shot year-round and the have no limit. but you can never go wrong with calling and talking to a game warden in your area. In fact after hearing there is an endangered dove here I think I will tomorrow. like I said the one I talked to last year never mentioned any being illegal to maybe he forgot or maybe it's just the area.



If the collard dove is legal to kill year round then why is it not listed with the pigeon, English sparrow, starling, and yote?


----------



## Danny Leigh (Sep 2, 2010)

LEON MANLEY said:


> If the collard dove is legal to kill year round then why is it not listed with the pigeon, English sparrow, starling, and yote?



Good question. However, it is listed directly under the dove section on page 23.

Of course now that I look at page 23 it does say....


MORNING DOVE ...so it looks like Common Ground Doves are not legal. (not that they should be legal)


----------



## Danny Leigh (Sep 2, 2010)

I sent a question off to the DNR about Common Ground Doves and got the following:

Danny,

The Common Ground Dove is not a listed endangered species in Georgia.  It is possible that someone may have seen or read where the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) considers the Common Ground Dove's status as threatened globally.  However, this group has no regulatory or statutory powers.

*The Common Ground Dove is not a game species in Georgia and, is thus, considered a protected species. * There is no open season on Common Ground Doves.  As such, it is unlawful to shoot Common Ground Doves.  They are a very small pigeon (dove) with distinct patterns and colors.  The informed hunter should be readily capable of recognizing this bird as not being a mourning dove.  As the saying goes, identify your target before you shoot it!


----------



## Twenty five ought six (Sep 2, 2010)

flybum84 said:


> I talked to a game warden last year and asked him about some small doves I'd seen on ft benning. he told me that there are a few species of dove and thought the ones I tried my best to explain were called rock dove. he said they are fine to shoot and count as your limit of 15.
> He never told me of any that are illegal to shoot. he also reminded me that collared doves can be shot year-round and the have no limit. but you can never go wrong with calling and talking to a game warden in your area. In fact after hearing there is an endangered dove here I think I will tomorrow. like I said the one I talked to last year never mentioned any being illegal to maybe he forgot or maybe it's just the area.




Someone got their names mixed up.  "Rock Dove" or "European Rock Dove" is the name of the common barnyard pigeon.


----------



## homey (Sep 2, 2010)

Legal or not DON'T SHOOT THEM. They're small in number and in edible meat.Your Welcome.


----------



## dawg2 (Sep 2, 2010)

flybum84 said:


> I talked to a game warden last year and asked him about some small doves I'd seen on ft benning. he told me that there are a few species of dove and thought the ones I tried my best to explain were called rock dove. he said they are fine to shoot and count as your limit of 15.
> He never told me of any that are illegal to shoot. he also reminded me that collared doves can be shot year-round and the have no limit. but you can never go wrong with calling and talking to a game warden in your area. In fact after hearing there is an endangered dove here I think I will tomorrow. like I said the one I talked to last year never mentioned any being illegal to maybe he forgot or maybe it's just the area.


"Rock Dove" = Pigeon


----------



## GA DAWG (Sep 2, 2010)

Id rather shoot a dove in the air.To easy to shoot one on the ground lol!  I dont guess Ive ever saw a real ground dove anyhow. How you supposed to tell them apart coming in at 60 mph?


----------



## mcduckman (Sep 2, 2010)

thanks for the help. I had only seen a few in north ga and saw a good many last year in south ga. I've asked many different people who called them rock doves, turtle doves, ground doves and the most common... mourning dove. So i thought i would do a little research before I went out this year. It is true that they have very little to offer as far as meat goes. It would be nice if they would state something about them in the reg book.


----------



## flybum84 (Sep 4, 2010)

LEON MANLEY said:


> If the collard dove is legal to kill year round then why is it not listed with the pigeon, English sparrow, starling, and yote?



like danny Leigh said, page 23 of the regulations states under the morning dove that eurasian collored doves many be taken at any time; no limit
so shoot them all and all year long. they are bigger and have a flat tail when flying.

Rock dove= pidgeon sorry guys I don't know if thats my mess up or the game wardens I'm pretty sure thats what he said they were but I could be wrong. they were small about the size of a fledgling morning dove and they looked like one to sitting in a tree but when they flew off they had a noticeable rounder tail?


----------



## atcarll (Sep 4, 2010)

The "ground dove" in Mexico and South America has religious significance and shooting one is considered a sin.


----------



## Public Land Prowler (Sep 4, 2010)

The legal doves for taking are mourning doves (15) and eurasian collared doves (no limit) They look almost identical,except they eurasian is a little bigger,and has a black strip that goes around half of its neck.I think the ones you are calling ground or turtle doves are the ones with reddish wings?The ones that are smaller than a mourning dove?It is my understanding that you aren't suposed to shoot them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_Dove

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Collared_Dove


----------



## LEON MANLEY (Sep 5, 2010)

flybum84 said:


> like danny Leigh said, page 23 of the regulations states under the morning dove that eurasian collored doves many be taken at any time; no limit
> so shoot them all and all year long. they are bigger and have a flat tail when flying.
> 
> Rock dove= pidgeon sorry guys I don't know if thats my mess up or the game wardens I'm pretty sure thats what he said they were but I could be wrong. they were small about the size of a fledgling morning dove and they looked like one to sitting in a tree but when they flew off they had a noticeable rounder tail?



Let me rephrase the question. If the collared dove is a shoot anytime all you want then why is it not listed with pigeons, English sparrows, and starlings?
Why would the regs list them with dove regs?
Why not say the pigeons you kill on a dove field would not count toward your limit either? 
I'm just saying.


----------



## gadawgfan706 (Sep 5, 2010)

flybum84 said:


> I talked to a game warden last year and asked him about some small doves I'd seen on ft benning. he told me that there are a few species of dove and thought the ones I tried my best to explain were called rock dove. he said they are fine to shoot and count as your limit of 15.
> He never told me of any that are illegal to shoot. he also reminded me that collared doves can be shot year-round and the have no limit. but you can never go wrong with calling and talking to a game warden in your area. In fact after hearing there is an endangered dove here I think I will tomorrow. like I said the one I talked to last year never mentioned any being illegal to maybe he forgot or maybe it's just the area.



Hey if u hunt Ft Benning U BETTER DANG WELL CHECK with THEIR GAME WARDENS and WILDLIFE PEEPS!!! I hunt out their every year with my dad and they dont play at all!!!


----------



## gadawgfan706 (Sep 5, 2010)

GA DAWG said:


> Id rather shoot a dove in the air.To easy to shoot one on the ground lol!  I dont guess Ive ever saw a real ground dove anyhow. How you supposed to tell them apart coming in at 60 mph?



They come in at 100 mph and look like tweety until they r close enough to see.


----------

