File:California fish and game (20325114610).jpg

English: Mourning dove nest with five-day-old nestlings at Gray Lodge Refuge (now Gray Lodge Wildlife Area), Butte County, California. Photograph by author, April 22, 1952.

Title: California fish and game
Identifier: californiafishga38_4cali (find matches)
Year: [1] (s)
Authors: California. Dept. of Fish and Game; California. Fish and Game Commission; California. Division of Fish and Game
Subjects: Fisheries -- California; Game and game-birds -- California; Fishes -- California; Animal Population Groups; Pêches; Gibier; Poissons
Publisher: (San Francisco, etc. ) State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game
Contributing Library: California Department of Fish and Game
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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Text Appearing Before Image:
WESTERX MOURXIXG DOVES 515 Growth and Care of Young Xewly hatched doves weifrh about 7 <iTams, are blind, and are covered with soft pale yellow natal down. The nestling-s have an amazingly rapid development. Ten days after hatching they are capable of flying from the nest. Most leave the nest voluntarilv at from 12 to 13 davs. The age of nestlings can be easily determined by feather development, a.s described by Nice (1922 ). Nestlings at 12 days of age, ready to depart from the nest, average 70 grams in weight (McClure, 1943). This is over one-half the weight of adults which average 125 grams. Dove squabs are fed on "pigeon milk,"' a material regurgitated by the parents which consists of a milky secretion from glands in the crop. As the birds become fledglings they are fed an increasing percentage of seeds. Feeding begins a few hours after hatching with both parents contributing. The young inserts its bill into that of the parent and the adult pumps the food with a bowing motion. AVlien the young are small, both are often fed at the same time. Adults carry on almost constant brooding of the young until they are ready to leave the nest. No sani- tary care of the nest is taken so nestling droppings remain in the nest.
Text Appearing After Image:
FIGURE 6. Mourning dove nest with flve-day-oId nestlings at Gray Lodge Refuge, Butte County, Photograph by author, April 22, 1952.

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