SELECTION OF FORAGING HABITAT BY MOURNING DOVES - A STRUCTURAL APPROACH

We sought to characterize the foraging habitat of the Mourning Dove (Z enaida macroura) by conducting an experiment to determine preferred ha bitat structure in grassland communities independent of species compos ition or forage availability. Our manipulations altered grass height, density of grass cover, and coverage of litter. To attract doves, food was added in equal amounts to all plots. We found that doves foraged in manipulated sites significantly more often than in Conservation Res erve Program control sires with an unaltered habitat structure. We con cluded that on our study sites doves selected foraging habitat based o n grass height and density. Our results suggest that the conversion of wheat fields to grass that has occurred extensively in our study area has resulted in a structural change in habitat that renders it less p referable for foraging by doves.