PointsAfieldSeason2026–27
Massachusetts · Migratory

Mourning dove

No open season — protected, not classified as a legal game bird
0 windows on one classification

Season windows

Awaiting survey — No dated season on record

This state's classification carries no date range for the species.

What you may take, and when

Take and hours

Licence and outlook

Bag limitAwaiting survey
HIP requiredAwaiting survey
Exceptions posted at the boundary

Massachusetts does not classify mourning dove as a huntable migratory game bird.Primary evidence: (1) MassWildlife's current 2026-27 migratory-game-bird regulations page lists the full species/date table (ducks, geese, brant, coot, woodcock, sora rail, Virginia rail, snipe) with no dove line item; (2) the codified regulatory definition of 'Migratory Game Birds' in 321 CMR 3.00 is limited to families Anatidae, Rallidae, and Scolopacidae — Columbidae (doves) is structurally excluded; (3) a full-text search of 321 CMR 3.00 found zero occurrences of the word 'dove.' Secondary sourcing (dovehunting.org, unverified independently) attributes this to an 1903 state-law classification of mourning dove as a protected songbird rather than a game bird, a status that per that source has never been legislatively reversed. Do not treat as 'no_season_found' — this is a structural non-game classification, not a data gap.

Population outlook

Massachusetts 2026

Awaiting survey — Massachusetts 2026

Confirmed absence — structural: Massachusetts does not classify mourning dove as a huntable migratory game bird at all (Columbidae structurally excluded from 321 CMR 3.00's "Migratory Game Birds" definition, matching this record's own classification), so there is nothing for a population forecast to gate.

Issuing agencyMassachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)www.mass.gov/orgs/division-of-fisheries-and-wildlifeRecord year 2026