Roof-Top Trapping Of Urban Mourning Doves

A total of 1,648 mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) was trapped on the gravel-topped roofs of buildings on the Texas A&M University campus during the period from February 1978 through January 1979. An average of 84.5 new doves and 52.8 recaptures per month were trapped in a maximum of 13 modified funnel traps baited with a combination of grain sorghum and cracked corn. The new captures were 74.3% adults of which 59.7% were males. Roof-top trapping minimizes human disturbance and travel while maximizing time available for trapping.