ecologia mediterranea – Vol. 36 (1) – 2010 107 Résumé

Abstract

during hunting period in 2009 (June 26-August 3) in Taroudant region, aims to produce Turtle dove morphometrics data and to confirm the presence, in breeding period, of the subspecies

Streptopelia turtur arenicola in the south of Morocco. A total of 132 killed birds were measured. Measurements (head-nozzle, culmen, wing, tarsus, tail and body lengths) were collected by taking in account the age (60 juveniles and 72 adults) and the sex (only for the adults: 42 males and 30 females). The statistical analysis showed that the juveniles were smaller than the adults and that the male adults were larger than the females except for culmen and tarsus lengths which the differences were not significant. The great similarity of our biometric results with the available bibliographical data’s confirms the presence of the S. t. arenicola subspecies in this area in the south of Morocco.

Introduction

Au Maroc, la tourterelle des bois Streptopelia turtur est un migrateur nicheur qui est distribué sur une grande surface du territoire national de l’extrême Nord jusqu’aux palmeraies du Sud et de la plage blanche (moyen Draâ) jusqu’au Sud-Est saharien (région de Figuig) (Thévenot et al. 2003). Dans le pays et bien que les tourterelles sont très largement distribuées avec d’importantes densités des nids (Barreau & Bergier 2000-2001 ; Hanane

Biométrie des tourterelles des bois

Streptopelia turtur dans le sud du Maroc (région de Taroudant)

Biometrics of Turtle doves Streptopelia turtur

in the South of Morocco (Taroudant region)