Crop-Gland Activity in Mourning Doves During Hunting Seasons In Virginia
Breeding populations of the mourning dove (Zenaidura macroura) have been declining over the past decade while at the same time hunting pressure and harvest have increased. Thus, minimization of conf1ict between nesting activity and hunting is important in stabilizing populations. As the crop-gland activity of doves provides an indication of post-hatching nesting activity the proportion of doves with active and regressing crop-glands was studied during the 1971 and 1972 hunting seasons in Virginia. Examination dates, number of adult doves examined, number with active (A) crop-glands, and...
