Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove has held roughly steady: up 9% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Mourning Dove
Slender, soft-voiced and abundant, the Mourning Dove is one of North America's most numerous and widespread birds, found in open country, farms and suburbs.
- Size
- 9–13.5 in long, about 4.2 oz (23–34 cm, 120 g)
- Habitat
- A broad range of open and wooded habitats, often near people.
- Diet
- Almost entirely seeds, gathered from the ground.
- Range
- Recorded on 4,144 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 49 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Columbidae · Generalists
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable Mourning Dove Trends
No notable trend signals for Mourning Dove. See the full index history below.
Mourning Dove Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Mourning Dove is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 28 (95% range 24–33). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±5.6%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | 24 | 33 |
| 2026 | 28 | 24 | 33 |
| 2027 | 28 | 24 | 33 |
| 2028 | 28 | 24 | 33 |
| 2029 | 28 | 24 | 33 |
Where the Mourning Dove Is Detected
BBS routes recording Mourning Dove, sized by most recent count.
Mourning Dove Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -14% | 1968 | 109 |
| Alaska | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Arizona | -24% | 1970 | 90 |
| Arkansas | -37% | 1969 | 62 |
| California | -19% | 1970 | 262 |
| Colorado | -21% | 1970 | 155 |
| Connecticut | +39% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | +183% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | +219% | 1968 | 125 |
| Georgia | -1% | 1968 | 111 |
| Idaho | -56% | 1970 | 57 |
| Illinois | +19% | 1968 | 105 |
| Indiana | -18% | 1968 | 69 |
| Iowa | -7% | 1969 | 39 |
| Kansas | -15% | 1969 | 67 |
| Kentucky | +19% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | +84% | 1969 | 100 |
| Maine | 21× | 1968 | 67 |
| Maryland | +26% | 1968 | 76 |
| Massachusetts | +202% | 1968 | 32 |
| Michigan | +32% | 1968 | 108 |
| Minnesota | -13% | 1969 | 85 |
| Mississippi | -22% | 1968 | 74 |
| Missouri | -22% | 1969 | 95 |
| Montana | -9% | 1970 | 110 |
| Nebraska | +1% | 1969 | 76 |
| Nevada | -40% | 1970 | 56 |
| New Hampshire | +304% | 1968 | 25 |
| New Jersey | +8% | 1968 | 44 |
| New Mexico | +47% | 1970 | 88 |
| New York | +108% | 1968 | 126 |
| North Carolina | -23% | 1968 | 110 |
| North Dakota | +70% | 1969 | 51 |
| Ohio | +48% | 1968 | 89 |
| Oklahoma | +9% | 1969 | 71 |
| Oregon | -19% | 1970 | 129 |
| Pennsylvania | +108% | 1968 | 138 |
| Rhode Island | +337% | 1968 | 7 |
| South Carolina | +8% | 1968 | 51 |
| South Dakota | -6% | 1969 | 65 |
| Tennessee | -19% | 1968 | 54 |
| Texas | -6% | 1969 | 247 |
| Utah | -42% | 1970 | 116 |
| Vermont | +394% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | -21% | 1968 | 88 |
| Washington | -16% | 1970 | 91 |
| West Virginia | +91% | 1968 | 63 |
| Wisconsin | +86% | 1968 | 98 |
| Wyoming | -11% | 1970 | 135 |
Mourning Dove Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
Mourning Dove Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it up about 8% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.