File:California fish and game (20513205715).jpg

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

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
WESTERN MOURXIXG DOVES 509 When flushed from the ground at night, doves seem to be blinded by a strong light. They commonly fly almost vertically to around 40 feet and then gradually descend with wings fluttering rapidly, in a hovering attitude. The legs are extended as though reaching for the ground, reminding one of a helicopter coming in to land. Nesting Sites and Nest Construction Over 75 percent of the trees on the refuge are white willow. They range in size from young saplings to 30 feet or more in height with trunk diameters up to two feet. These trees provided most of the nesting sites. Other trees used for nesting were cottonwood, Chinese elm and black locust. The willow grove environment was preferred, as most nests were found in this habitat. The average height of all nests for the years of study was 11 feet. The highest was 32 feet. Only one ground nest was found and that during August in a fallow millet field. In California, it seems that as one proceeds south ground nesting by doves increases. In Kings County, six miles northwest of Lemoore, John D. Childers for several years has observed nearly 50 percent of the dove population nesting on the ground. In surveying the boundaries of three of Childers' cotton fields it was interesting' to note that adequate nesting sites in willow groves about ponds, mucli like those preferred at Gray Lodge, were available. Doves move into the cotton fields during June and Julv before the cotton has reached its maturitv. Nesting losses
Text Appearing After Image:
FIGURE 2. Mourning dove brooding young. Gray Lodge Refuge, Butte County. This occurs almost continuously until nestlings depart from the nest at approximately 12 days of age. Phofo- graph by author, April 6, 1952.

Note About Images