106 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. V, January, 1951 
infestations with this cestode may occur as a 
result of consumption of these food forms. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
These observations were made during a 
survey of the game birds in the Hawaiian 
Islands as the initial step in the Federal Aid- 
Wildlife Program (1-R) of the Board of 
Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry, 
Territory of Hawaii. Field work was carried 
out from February, 1946, through July, 1947. 
We are indebted in many ways to fellow 
workers with the Board of Commissioners 
of Agriculture and Forestry, particularly Mr. 
C. G. Lennox, President of the Board, and 
Mr. V. E. Brock, Director, Division of Fish 
and Game; and to the owners and operators 
of many of the ranches and sugar cane and 
pineapple plantations in Hawaii. 
For especial assistance we wish to thank: 
Dr. E. Mayr, American Museum of Natural 
History, for examining collected Lace-necked 
Doves; Mr. E. Y. Hosaka, University of 
Hawaii and Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Mr. 
G. O. Fagerlund, formerly of Hawaii National 
Park and now with Olympic National Park, 
and Dr. H. St.John, University of Hawaii, for 
identification of certain plants and for plant 
taxonomy; Mr. C. E. Pemberton, Hawaiian 
Sugar Planters’ Association Experiment Sta- 
tion, for identification of insects; Dr. E. W. 
Stafford of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, Mr. E. Ediger, United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service, and Dr. J. E. 
Alicata, University of Hawaii, for identi- 
fication of parasites; Dr. R. W. Hiatt, Uni- 
versity of Hawaii, Mr. L. W. Wishard, Ho- 
nokaa Sugar Company, and Judge M. Pence 
of Hilo, Hawaii, for supplying some of the 
crops used in the food analysis; and Mr. 
W. O. Nagel, Missouri Conservation Com- 
mission, for critically reading this manuscript. 
SUMMARY 
1. Lace-necked Doves {Streptopelia chinensis 
chinensis) are permanent residents on all of 
the major Hawaiian Islands. A total of 
3,120 square miles is occupied by an esti- 
mated 88,680 Lace-necked Doves with 
densities varying from less than 10 to 200 
birds per square mile. The range occurs 
mostly from sea level to 4,000 feet eleva- 
tion but in one area on Hawaii it reaches 
8,000 feet. All types of land except dense 
forests and barren lava support doves. 
The optimum range occurs from sea level 
to 2,500 feet elevation. Here, the mean 
annual temperature is between 75° and 
70° F. and extremes in the annual rainfall 
are from less than 10 to approximately 
60 inches. Where rainfall is greater and/or 
temperatures lower, lesser populations 
occur. 
2. An analysis of foods in 146 crops shows 
that 65 plant species comprise 99.5 per 
cent of the diet while 13 animal items 
constitute the remaining 0.5 per cent. 
Of the plant matter, seeds and pods 
amount to 84.1 per cent, succulent fruits 
14.4 per cent, and roots and seedlings 1.0 
per cent. Grit occurred in 17 crops and 
38 gizzards, averaging 0.3 cubic centi- 
meter in each case. Feeding activity is 
greatest from approximately noon to 
3:00 p.m. No competition for food occurs 
between Lace-necked and Barred Doves 
in Hawaii. 
3. Either fresh or brackish surface water or 
succulent fruit is a prerequisite for good 
Lace-necked Dove range. 
4. Lace-necked Doves may fly as far as 5 
miles between roosting and feeding areas 
but favorable sites with both available 
food and good roosting cover have resi- 
dent populations. 
5. Roosting areas are usually densely 
wooded thickets along the coastal flats, 
occasional dense groves, or the peripher- 
ies of forested areas and wooded draws 
radiating therefrom, but some roosting 
occurs in practically any timbered area. 
6. Lace-necked Doves breed mostly from 
February through September and pos- 
