Texas has several species of dove, all of which are similar in appearance and habits, but that each has their own unique attributes.

    Mourning doves are the most common and they prefer a mix of wild and agricultural settings. In most of the state, their preferred foods are milo, wheat and corn and they feed heavily on wild plants such as dove weed (croton) and ragweed. They are big seedeaters and researchers have found individuals with as many as 6,400 seeds in their crop.

    In the eastern part of the state, they can be found along the edge of fresh clear cuts and newly formed pine thickets where fresh growth of many of their preferred wild food is common. There is a misconception that mourning doves only congregate in large numbers in agricultural areas but parts of the Pineywoods region for example are loaded with them in areas where there is little agriculture.

    Whitewings are more of a city loving species and although they were once relegated to the southern half of the state, their numbers have increased dramatically and the range now includes most of Texas.

    Whitewings often fly out of urban areas to feed in the surrounding wild lands. That is not to say they do not dwell in purely wild areas as they do, but in much of the state, particularly from Austin south, the doves you will shoot around the cities will be most heavily whitewings. Whitewings will eat a variety of food from small seeds to acorns to cactus fruit.

    In most regards, the whitewings and mourning doves, which are by far the most important to hunters are alike accept in one crucial aspect: flight time. Mourning doves are notorious for flying before legal shooting light, whereas mourning doves tend to get moving later in the morning. In addition, whitewings, especially those in South Texas, fly in larger groups that mourning doves. You can be sitting on your bucket bored out of your mind and in comes more doves than you can shoot at. Whitewing hunting tends to be a little more intense than the typical mourning dove shoot.

    In South and Southeast Texas, hunters also encounter white-tipped doves, which prefer extremely thick areas and have a smaller bag limit. Hunters can only kill two per day.

    There is another species some hunters can bag and that is the Eurasian collared dove, which is an exotic species that is now found in most Texas counties. They are a large species with beautiful markings and fortunately for hunters there is currently no bag limit on them or any other special regulation that might make things confusing.

    The inca dove is fairly common in some areas and are off limits to harvest. They are smaller than the other species and have a unique feather pattern tha make them fairly easy to identify, at least in good light.

    Along the coast, access to dove hunting areas can be spotty as the best hunting is typically at the beginning of the season and then during the late dove season. The biggest factor will be activity in the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane or tropical storm dropping lots of water on coastal fields can mess up hunting in a hurry. Some of the most consistent shoots will be around the irrigated areas around Winnie, Devers and Katy.

    In the Hill Country, areas managed for deer will have the best prospects for shooting doves, but one again it will be an early shoot. This region over the last few years has had overall lackluster shooting other than the first week of the season. Some say it is relatively little forage while others blame high pressure on key areas. Either way, if this year's drought continues do not expect great things from most of this region.

    The Post Oak Savannah region will probably have some of the best shooting in the state, particularly in irrigated areas and around the edges of thick forests.

    South Texas should offer the best shooting action for both mourning and white-winged doves. You can pretty much always count on top shooting around stock tanks in the late morning and evening hours and expect agriculture areas to hold good numbers of doves. The southern reaches of the region areas Webb and McMullen County should be solid and are very popular but my picks would be the fringe areas along the Interstate 10 and Highway 90 corridor. San Antonio and Uvalde hold some of the largest dove populations in the region, offering hunters a mixed bag of whitewings, mournings and some white-tipped doves.

    Pineywoods hunters will find the most doves are the Trinity, Sabine, Neches and Angelina corridors. There are lots of cattle in the region these days and if the drought continues the tanks made for them, will be a top spot to sit out doves. Hunters should also target the edge of new pine plantations and fresh clear cuts. Evening shoots are typically the best bet here.

Chester Moore, Jr. is the Port Arthur News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmoore@fishgame.com. or www.projectzooquest.org (Chester's Wildlife Blog). You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.