Abstract
AN ecological survey of the wood pigeon's breeding habitats in Great Britain is being organized by the Edward Grey Institute, Museum Road, Oxford, as part of the British Trust for Ornithology's investigation into the biology of this species. The basis of the survey is a punch card, one being used for each occupied nest. The card is printed with a simple system of habitat classification ; types of wood are illustrated by stating the name of the chief tree, shrub and flower. The finder also gives details of the position and contents of the nest, completing the hatching and nedging records if there are opportunities of returning to the nest. A punch card may be used at any time when a nest is found, but the maximum information is obtained from a census of any area of known acreage. If possible the census is repeated each month, cards being made out for nests not previously discovered and fresh information added to the old ones. The scheme is therefore flexible, allowing contributions from either an individual with only a few minutes to spare, or from members of a team; it also allows scope for organization within the team, encouraging those with specialized knowledge, such as a botanist, photographer, 'surveyor', and so on. For those proposing to organize a team census a pamphlet “How to Organise a Wood Pigeon Nest Census” is available from the Institute.
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Wood Pigeon Nest Census. Nature 149, 467 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149467b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149467b0