Colorado band-tailed pigeon season 2026-27: dates, units and bag limits
Band-tailed pigeon is open in Colorado from September 1, 2026 to September 14, 2026, statewide. This page has the 2026-27 dates, the daily bag and possession limits, the licences you need and the rules that apply, read from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife brochure.
2026-27 season dates and limits
| Season | Dates | Where | Daily bag | Possession |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band-tailed pigeon season | September 1, 2026 to September 14, 2026 | statewide | 2 | 6 |
Shooting hours: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset.
Licences and stamps
- Colorado small game licence
- Colorado Habitat Stamp
- Harvest Information Program (HIP) number for this season
- The permit this species needs (see the brochure)
Rules for band-tailed pigeon
- Carry the band-tailed pigeon permit with your licence.
- Shotgun holding no more than three shells. Rifles and pistols are not legal for migratory birds.
- Carry your hunter education card.
- Every dressed dove or pigeon must still be identifiable; dressed doves count against the dove limit.
Do not mistake these for band-tailed pigeon
- Rock pigeon (town pigeon) (different season or permit): Usually a white rump and two dark wing bars, dark bill, red feet, mixed colours in one flock, around towns, barns and bridges. A band-tail flock is all grey with yellow bill and feet and lands in treetops. Its legal status was not read; leave it.
- Jays, Clark's nutcracker and flickers (protected or closed: never shoot): Bouncing flight and white patches. Not a pigeon.
- Hawks and falcons (protected or closed: never shoot): Never a target.
How to hunt band-tailed pigeon
- Look for flocks sitting in the bare tops of tall conifers and dead trees near oak brush.
- Pass shoot at saddles, ridge lines and gaps the flocks use between roost and feed, and at the edge of oak brush.
- The bird is heavier than a dove and shots are longer. Mark falls carefully on steep ground.
- Watch for hikers, stock and other hunters behind the birds.
Where to walk for band-tailed pigeon in your unit
FilledTag finds the patches of the right habitat for your date on public land in the unit you choose, each with legal parking and the walk from the truck. Small game plans are free for the first 75 hunters, then $9.99.
Get my free plan See a sample planWhat a map cannot tell you
- The land cover map cannot tell oak brush from other shrub, and nothing shows this year's acorn crop.
Source
2026 Colorado Small Game & Waterfowl brochure (corrections 21 Aug 2026); CPW regulations chapter W-5 (03/04/2026): https://cpw.widen.net/s/bklvf2bjmw/colorado-small-game--waterfowl-brochure. Read October 2, 2026. Rules change every year, and corrections are issued during the season: read the current brochure before you hunt.