Pssst....dont tell the Dove hunters in Oklahoma that their doves are pigeons.
Real pigeons are tasty, and most have been hunted out of existence in North America. All but the Band-tailed Pigeon, which is still common along the Pacific coast.
Need to come to Oklahoma! The blue/gray pigeon is alive and well. They are one nasty bird around here. If they can, they will target your car!
So let's check off the knowns: All these birds are fast. All can be gray. All can have red legs, with the exception of the Band-tailed Pigeons, whose feet tend to be yellow. Rock doves and Band-tailed Pigeons are larger, thicker, and darker gray than your bird.
"Doves" as we know them, are smaller, slimmer, and usually lighter in color (dove gray), like your visitor. There are two common varieties of doves in your neighborhood, native Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared Doves. The collared ones are bigger than the native ones, are a little bit lighter gray, and have a black crescent at the back of the neck. The leg band may be the giveaway, since the invasive Eurasians are being studied to determine numbers, location, and territory expansion. They're probably tasty, too, and may not be protected from hunting since they are an invasive species. If you decide to harvest them, let the authorities know about the information on the band, and where you found them.
Lots of Ring neck doves here. They're well fed. We have grain fields (wheat, sorghum, barley) around here. So yeah they are well fed. Hunting season opens 1 September. Look out!
