Mourning doves are protected as native migrating birds under the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, unless you have a state permit as a wildlife rehabilitation it is a federal offense to own them as far as I read the law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Bird_Treaty_Act_of_1918
Partial Listing of Covered Species
The following is a sampling of some of the more commonly known birds of the over 800 species covered under the treaty:
- Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Black-capped Chickadee, Parus atricapillus
- American Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus
- Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
- Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum
- Cliff Swallow, Hirundo pyrrhonota
- Barn Owl, Tyto alba
- Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica
- Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor
- Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
- Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis
- Mourning Dove, "Zenaida macroura"
- Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
- Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
- Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
- Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana
- Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
- American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Common Raven, Corvus corax
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris
- Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
[edit] Game Birds and Hunted Species
The migratory bird conventions with Canada and Mexico define "game birds" as those species belonging to the following families:
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which implements the conventions, grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to establish hunting seasons for any of the migratory game bird species listed above. In actuality, the Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that hunting is appropriate only for those species for which there is a long tradition of hunting, and for which hunting is consistent with their population status and their long-term conservation. It is inconceivable, for example, that we will ever see legalized hunting of plovers, curlews, or the many other species of shorebirds whose populations were devastated by market gunners in the last decades of the 19th century.
Although the Migratory Bird Treaty Act considers some 170 species to be "game birds," less than 60 species are typically hunted each year. The Fish and Wildlife Service publishes migratory game bird regulations in the Federal Register. Those species for which hunting regulations have been established at some point during the past 10 years are designated with an asterisk (*) in the following list. However, such a designation does not necessarily indicate that a given species can be taken legally in your State or locality. For regulations specific to your locality, you should consult with your State's natural resource agency. Source: The list of hunted species was taken primarily from Appendix 2 of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Issuance of Annual Regulations Permitting the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds (SEIS 88), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
