WHITE-WINGED DOVE: White-winged doves on a 
northward migration� ahead on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas 

At the turn of the last century, white winged dove 
populations in Texas were robust. Found mostly in 
the Lower Rio Grande Valley, their numbers 
declined as agriculture took root there.

15�They [farmers] took out a lot of native habitat�your 
brush and shrub species that are native to South Texas. 
That�s where the birds bred and roosted, so they required 
that habitat. A lot of that was wiped out for agriculture. 
So, through the 20s and 30s and 40s, we saw a big 
decline in the white-wing population in Texas.

Citrus dominated the landscape. Owen Fitzsimmons 
is TPW�s web-less migratory game bird leader. As 
citrus groves matured, the doves rebounded.

06�They like open areas with large mature stands of 
trees�and citrus groves were perfect for that. So white-
winged doves quickly colonized those citrus groves. 

Hard freezes in the 40s & 50s, and again in the 80s 
devastated the citrus groves, and also the doves.

04� So, the white-winged dove population fluctuated up 
and down through the middle of the century.

In the 80s, urban expansion moved northward along 
the I-35 corridor and white-winged doves followed.

11�They�re found throughout Texas, now. They�re found 
all the way up into Oklahoma. They�re breeding in Kansas 
and Missouri. Northward expansion is unlimited at this 
point.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our 
series and funds research on White-winged Dove 
Density, Distribution, and Harvest. [W-128-R-19]

For Texas Parks and Wildlife�I�m Cecilia Nasti. 


Total sound bite time:		        0:36.0
Maximum Script time:		        0:49.0                 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25