Eared doves ( Zenaida auriculata ) cause significant economic damage to mature sunflowers in Argentina. Empirical evidence indicates that some sunflower hybrids (e.g., confectionery and striped oilseed) might be less susceptible to bird damage than others (e.g., black oilseed). However, these less susceptible hybrids could imply a trade-off between damage reduction and oil content in the seeds. In this work, we investigated the potential of a new oil-con hybrid type (OC: oilseed × confectionery cross) as a tool to prevent eared dove damage to sunflower crops. We compared the performance (damage values), morphological characteristics, and nutritive quality of this hybrid compared to the other three standard sunflower hybrids (BO: black oilseed, SO: striped oilseed, and CON: confectionery), both in the field and in cages. In both tests, doves significantly selected BO and SO hybrids over CON and OC hybrids. The OC hybrid was not selected despite its high nutritional value. Results suggest that achene size could be an important morphological trait influenced by eared dove selection of hybrids independently of other seed characteristics. Based on these results, the OC hybrid tested in this study seems to be a promising tool for preventing eared dove damage to sunflowers in Argentina.