FORTY-FIFTH BIENNIAL REPORT 



35 



Numerous other phases of dove life history are 

 under study, including determining migration pat- 

 terns, nesting studies and food habits. 



Protectionist Activities 



In 1957, the Legislature was asked to place the dove 

 on the songbird list and the proposal was passed on to 

 the Assembly Fish and Game Committee for study. 



Sportsmen opposed the proposal and presented its 

 case for continuing the dove as a game bird. The dove 

 produces the greatest bag in point of numbers of any 

 species of game. It is exceeded only by the combined 

 bag of all species of ducks. Of the bird species, only 

 pheasants and waterfowl are sought after by more in- 

 dividual hunters. More people hunt doves than hunt 

 quail. 



In the southern part of the state where hunting 

 opportunities are most needed the dove is the leading 

 game bird species. From the standpoint of the welfare 

 of the species, hunters take only a small portion of the 

 total population. It is unlikely that if all dove hunt- 

 ing were stopped that a significant rise in the popula- 

 tion would take place. 



HABITAT IMPROVEMENT 



A variety of habitat improvement activities was car- 

 ried out during the biennium with federal aid funds. 



More than 2,000 artificial watering devices (guz- 

 zlers) for the benefit of upland game are now in 

 operation. Maintenance work was performed on these 

 installations. Seventeen new guzzlers were installed, 

 including one 10,000-gallon unit in Riverside County 

 for use of mountain sheep. Four sumps were con- 

 structed for deer watering sites in the Redding (Re- 

 gion 1) area. 



Dove, showing wing primary feaihers. 



— Fish and Game Photo 



Forty-one new springs \\ere developed, mainly in 

 desert areas, and 151 others were inspected and main- 

 tained. This work consists mainly of creating rock 

 basins, cleaning out silt and controlling excessive 

 vegetation at spring sites. 



Hunter Access Roods 



Seven miles of hunter access roads were constructed. 

 In addition, the department supervised the construc- 



Game managers Bob Weed, left, and Walton Smith, center, check the bag of an unidentified dove hunter as part of o program to determine 

 the age and number of birds being taken. Inset shows development of primary wing feathers which help tell dove's age. 



— Fish .ind Game Photo 



