Do Hawks Eat Doves?

If you’re thinking about serving up a platter of a hawk’s all-time faves, you can’t forget rats, frogs, snakes, small fishes and birds. While most of those items are going to be relatively easy for you to gather, one of them is a known flight risk (no pun intended). Not just for you though, hawks also find it difficult to hunt birds.

Hawks prefer to go after small birds, but occasionally they like competition. So how do doves fare in that discussion? Well, today we’ll find out. Do hawks eat doves?

Do Hawks Eat Doves?

Yes, hawks do eat doves. They are birds of prey, so anything smaller than them, they’ll go for, even if it’s a bird, which is a more difficult hunt for obvious reasons. 

But it’s not all that straightforward though, hawks will only eat doves that are significantly smaller than them, or baby doves. Because larger doves are definitely going to be a tough catch, given that their talons, although super powerful, can only hold so much weight. 

So hawks will not go out of their way to hunt doves. But if there’s an unsuspecting and smaller-sized dove in the eyeline of a hunting hawk, then surely, the hawk is going to launch a brutal attack. 

What Kind Of Hawks Eat Doves?

Now, it’s not easy to tell what specific type of hawk is going to eat doves. But with a few observations, you can figure out what type of hawk would normally hunt a dove. Here’s how you can tell,

• Hawks that dwell in farms, open woods, towns, grasslands, and roadsides have a better advantage in hunting doves because that’s where doves usually forage. 
• I know I’ve mentioned the size thing, how hawks will typically go for small-sized doves. But this isn’t always the case, sometimes though, larger hawks will go for regular-sized doves. This is because they clearly have the advantage of size and strength to overpower a dove.
• If there are homes where doves and other birds frequent, hawks, big or small, are likely to circle around more.

So it really comes down to the availability of doves, more than anything else for hawks. With limited sources of food, a hawk will hunt anything and eat it. Be it doves, sparrows, crows, fishes, mice, lizards, or anything smaller than them. 

Do Hawks Eat Mourning Doves?

Mourning doves are also called rain doves or turtle doves. They have a slender build with a long tail and wings that are pointed. They’re commonly found in many parts of North America and are also seen in parks and woods.

Sadly, the mourning dove is a popular species of bird that is often hunted for sport in America.  

To answer the question though, yes hawks will eat mourning doves, whenever given the chance. Mourning doves are right up the hawk’s alley too, they’re a smaller species of dove which is perfect for the hawk to swiftly pick up with its talons and grab onto them. 

Do Hawks Eat Baby Doves?

Yes, hawks will eat baby doves. They will mostly go for smaller-sized birds and baby birds are perfect for snack time. Also, babies will not be able to get away as well as adult doves, and their defenses are obviously, not that well-developed. Granted, doves aren’t good at defending themselves anyway, but baby doves’ defense mechanisms are unquestionably poor. 

Do Hawks Eat Dove Eggs?

Yes, hawks will eat dove eggs, even though they’re not as substantially satisfying as a whole dove would be. Hawks will swallow the egg whole and its shell will be passed through later on. Unattended nests are primary choices for hawks and they’ll eat however many eggs they can find. 

Remember that hawks don’t eat other birds’ or reptiles’ eggs regularly. They’ll only do it when other foods are limited and they can’t keep up with the exhaustive hunt for them. You can say that eggs are more like an occasional feast or a delicacy for hawks. 

How Do You Protect Doves From Hawks?

You can protect doves from hawks by providing them with a good shelter. Dense trees, thick bushes, and shrubbery are great as a natural cover for doves from hawks. If you have feeders in your backyards, you can cover them with protective shields and only remove them when the doves are around.

And if you’re planning to shelter doves, keep the feeders nearby so the doves can fly whenever they sense any potential threat. Not putting any feeders out can also be a great way to protect doves from hawks. 

Another way you can protect doves from hawks is by NOT scattering seeds in the ground, which bird lovers often do. While the birds are busy feeding the seeds, it creates an easy entry for the hawk to dive in and pick up the birds. 

Conclusion

To wrap it all up, yes, hawks will eat doves on occasion. But doves are not its primary choice of prey. Being the incredible, natural hunters that hawks are, they’re likely to successfully capture anything that they lay their eyes on, including unsuspecting doves that are much smaller than them. 

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