IVANHOE – No species of bird on record has colonized North America at the speed in which the Eurasian collared-dove has. And while the adaptable, attractive dove has been in Minnesota for more than a decade, it is just recently starting to attract attention from the locals.

Along with Lake Benton and Granite Falls, Ivanhoe residents have started taking notice of the interesting dove.

“Most people don’t notice them until they hear them,” avid Ivanhoe hunter Bob Verschelde said. “I’ve been seeing them for a couple of years now. You used to only see a few, but now they’re all over town.”

Verschelde said he wonders if residents mistake the collared-dove, which makes a “coo, COO, coo” sound, for the smaller mourning dove.

“Some people probably don’t know what they are,” he said. “But mourning doves all fly south. These birds stay here all winter.”

Seeing the doves during the winter is what tipped off Richard Rolling and his neighbor.

“I started seeing them a couple of years ago but didn’t pay any attention to them,” said Rolling, who lives in the rural Ivanhoe area. “Then, my neighbor was talking about them, saying they were larger than a mourning dove. Some people thought they were mourning doves, but the birds were here all winter, so that wasn’t them. They were the banded doves (what the locals call them). Being out here all the time is what tipped me off.”

The Eurasian collared-dove gets it name from the black half-collar at the nape of its neck. They are a light gray-brown color with plump bodies, small heads and long tails. The bird has dark-tipped wings and its white tail feathers are squared off at the tip, rather than pointed like a mourning dove’s.

Doves and pigeons refer to the same species of birds, with doves being smaller and pigeons being larger. The collared-dove is considered an intermediate size. While there are nearly 300 species of doves and pigeons, only 15 can be found in North America. Only the collared-dove and the mourning dove are found in Minnesota.

“The Eurasian collared-doves have been around for years,” avid bird watcher Sue Morton said. “The first one in the area must have at least 10 years ago, in Milan. I remember some expert birding tours in Lac qui Parle, and on that tour, one of our specific places to go was the Milan elevator, where the first one in southwest Minnesota was sighted. We spent an hour wandering around waiting for him to show up. And he finally did.”

Morton estimates that the collared-doves started showing up in her native Cottonwood area about five years ago.

“Every since then on the Christmas Bird Count in December, we get between 30-50 of them, between Cottonwood and Hanley Falls,” she said. “They’ve been seen in Marshall, too. They love the prairie. I think that’s related to the food source because we have good habitat.”

Morton remembers the first sighting of a collared-dove in Cottonwood, which was near the elevator.

“A gentleman on the other side of the elevator called and said the biggest dove he’s ever seen was on the side of his house,” Morton said. “Paul Egeland and I ran over there to verify it. I think it was the very next bird count where we had over 50 of them.”

Native to Asia, approximately 50 collared-doves were released in the Bahamas in 1974. By the 1980s, the species had successfully colonized in southern Florida. Moving in a northwest direction, the prolific bird reached Alaska by 2000. The population then spread to the west and the east, though the bird has not settled in the northeast part of the U.S.

“They’re fairly common in the United States now,” Morton said. “They started up the east coast and then gradually moved west. They tend to live in towns that have an elevator because there if plenty of food there. And they generally nest in the evergreen trees, like the spruces and pines.”

Collared-doves seem to prefer living in urban and suburban settings. The tend to perch on telephone poles and wires as well as fenceposts and large trees. Most forage for seeds on the ground or seek food from platform-type feeders.

“They seem to be more of a town bird,” Rolling said. “There’s not too many out in the country.”

In rural areas, collared-doves can be found on farms where grain is readily available. In cooler months, flocks roost together in large trees. It appears that they not only do well in the hot summer weather but also harsh winter conditions.

“They’re very adaptable,” Morton said. “Their needs are minimal. They’re pretty prolific, so I think they’ll just keep moving west. They might be just like another pigeon, where they’re everywhere.”

One of the biggest concerns for conservationists is whether or not the rapid invasion of collared-doves will affect the native mourning dove population. So far, it doesn’t appear to be a problem, though it may in the future.

“I don’t think it’s an issue right now,” Morton said. “I personally like them. They’re fun to watch. If it does become an issue, people can deal with it then. You do have to keep that balance with nature somehow, but I don’t think they’re a nuisance.”

Doves are known to be some of the most fascinating birds to observe, partly because of their very explosive flights and high speeds. Doves normally fly 30-40 mph but can reach speeds up to 60 mph.

Each species also has its own unique coo. While the mourning dove has a soft cooing sound that some people confuse with the hooting of an owl, the collared-dove is said to be shorter and more impatient than that of the mourning dove.

“Once you see the bird and connect it with that sound, you don’t forget it,” Morton said. “It sounds like a deep train whistle, like a distorted tooting sound. It’s louder than the other doves.”

In most states, the Eurasian collared-dove is unprotected, meaning a person could shoot them year-round. Of course, there is no hunting allowed within city limits, which is where the bird tends to reside. Hunters are also prohibited from shooting within 500 feet of any buildings occupied by humans or livestock without written permission of the owner, according to the Minnesota DNR.

In 2004, the Minnesota Legislature reinstated the mourning dove hunt after a nearly 60-year absence, likely because of the high population. Dove are the No. 1 migratory game bird in the nation.

The Minnesota mourning dove season runs from Sept. 1 to Nov. 9 this year. The daily bag limit is 15 and the possession limit is 30. Verschelde and his son, Ryan, tried mourning dove hunting a few years back.

“We got a few, but they’re so hard to hit,” Verschelde said. “They’re fast. I know some people do it just to get outdoors more, but I didn’t think they were real good eating. There’s just a little piece of meat on each one.”

While dove hunting is in its infancy here in Minnesota, it’s big in other parts of the U.S., and it appears the Eurasian collared-doves are here to stay.