Errors From Determining Sex Of Mourning Doves By Plumage Characteristics
Errors generated when determining the sex of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) from plumage characteristics and their effect on sex ratio projections from banded and shot samples were evaluated in a 2-year study in Louisiana. Error rates (percentage misclassified) of 3.8% and 5.0% were obtained from a sample of 236 banded and 1,820 hunter-killed doves, respectively. Converting data to sex ratios produced actual error rates of 13. I% for the banded sample and 1.1% for doves killed by hunters. No significant differences were detected in ability to determine sex in doves from plumage...
