Uiir Livina Resouici's — Buds 



73 



indices appeared to be most closely correlated 

 with changes in number of farms (positive) or 

 farm si/e (negative). In addition, an analysis 

 identified number of farms and acres of soy- 

 beans, oats, and sorghum over time as good 

 indicators of the number of doves heard. 



Early records indicate that mourning doves 

 were present, although not abundant, when the 

 United States was settled by colonists (Reeves 

 and McCabe 1993). The resulting clearing of 

 forests, introduction of new food plants, grazing 

 and trampling by livestock that promoted seed- 

 producing plants used by doves, and the cre- 

 ation of stock ponds providing more widely dis- 

 tributed drinking water in the arid West all ben- 

 efited the mourning dove so that they are prob- 

 ably more numerous now than in colonial times. 



These birds are quite adaptable and readily 

 nest and feed in urban and rural areas. The 

 mourning dove has recently even expanded its 

 range northward. 



References 



Aldrich. J.W. 1993. Classification and distribution. Pages 

 47-54 in T.S. Basketl. M.W. Sayre, R.E. Tomlinson. and 

 R.E. Mirarchi. eds. Ecology and management of the 

 mourning dove, Stackpole Books. Hairisburg. PA. 



Dolton. D.D. 199.3a. The Call-count Survey: historic devel- 

 opment and cuirent procedures. Pages 23.^-2.52 in T.S. 

 Baskett. M.W. Sayre. RE. Tomlmson. and RE, Mirarchi. 

 eds. Ecology and management of the mourning dove. 

 Stackpole Books, Hamshurg. PA, 



Dolton. D.D. 1993b. Mourning dove breeding population 

 status, 1993. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, MD. 

 16 pp. 



Droege, S., and J.R. Sauer. 1990. North American Breeding 

 Bird Survey annual summary 19S9. U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service Biological Rep, 90(8). 16 pp. 



Dunks. J.H.. RE. Tomlinson, H.M, Reeves, D.D. Dolton. 

 C.E, Braun. and T.P, Zapatka, 1982, Migration, harvest, 

 and population dynamics of mourning doses handed in the 

 Central Management Unit. 1967-77. U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service Special Sci. Rep.— Wildlife 249. 128 pp. 



Hayne. D.W. 1975. E.xperimental increase of mourning 

 dove bag limit in Eastern Management Unit, 1965-72. 

 Southeastern Association of the Game and Fish 

 Commissioners Tech. Bull. 2. 56 pp. 



Kiel. W. H.. Jr. 1959. Mourning dove management units — a 

 progress report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special 

 Sci. Rep.— Wildlife 42, 24 pp. 



- heard 

 EMU 



long-term trend 



CMU 



WMU 



66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 

 Year 



90 92 



Reeves. H.M,. and R.E. McCabe. 1993. Historical perspec- 

 tive. Pages 7-46 //( T.S. Baskett, M,W. Sayre, R.E. 

 Tomlinson, and R.E. Mirarchi, eds. Ecology and man- 

 agement of the mourning dove. Stackpole Books. 

 Hamsburg, PA. 



Sadler, K.C. 1993. Mourning dove harvest. Pages 449-458 

 //; T.S. Baskett, M.W. Sayre. R.E. Tomlinson, and R.E. 

 Mirarchi, eds. Ecology and management of the mourning 

 dove. Stackpole Books. Hairisburg. PA. 



Tomlinson, R.E.. D.D. Dolton. H.M. Reeves. J.D. Nichols, 

 and L.A. McKibben. 1988. Migration, harvest, and pop- 

 ulation characteristics of mourning doves banded in the 

 Western Management Unit. 1964-77. U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service Tech. Rep. 13. 101 pp. 



Tomlinson. R.E., and J.H. Dunks. 1993. Population charac- 

 teristics and trends in the Central Management Unit. 

 Pages 305-340 in T.S. Baskett. M.W. Sayre, R.E. 

 Tomlinson, and R.E. Mirarchi, eds. Ecology and man- 

 agement of the mourning dove. Stackpole Books, 

 Harrisburg, PA. 



USFWS and U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1993. 1991 

 National survey of fishing, hunting, and wildlife -associ- 

 ated recreation. U.S. Government Printing Office. 

 Washington, DC. 124 pp. 



Fig. 2. Population indices of 

 mourning doves in the Eastern 

 (EMU), Central (CMU), and 

 Western (WMU) Management 

 units, 1966-93. 



For further information: 



David D. Dolton 



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



Office of Migratory Bird 



Management 



1 1500 Amencan Holly Dr. 



Laurel. MD 20708 



The common raven {Coitus corax) is a large 

 black passerine bird found throughout the 

 northern hemisphere including western and 

 noilhern Noilh America. Ravens are scavengers 

 that frequently feed on road-killed animals, 

 large dead mammals, and human refuse. They 

 kill and eat prey including rodents, lambs 

 (Larsen and Dietrich 1970). birds, frogs, scorpi- 

 ons, beetles, lizards, and snakes. They also feed 

 on nuts, grains, fruits, and other plant matter 

 (Knight and Call 1980; Heinrich 1989). Their 

 recent population increase is of concern because 

 ravens eat agricultural crops and animals whose 

 populations may be depleted. 



Ravens are closely associated with human 

 activities, frequently visiting solid-waste land- 

 fills and garbage containers at parks and food 

 establishments, being pests of agricultural 

 crops, and nesting on many human-made struc- 

 tures. In two recent surveys in the deserts of 

 California (FaunaWest Wildlife Consultants 

 1989; Knight and Kawashima 1993), ravens 

 were more numerous in areas with more human 

 influences, and were often indicators of the 

 degree to which humans affect an area. 



Annual Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) con- 

 ducted nationwide by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service (USFWS) indicated that raven 



Common 

 Ravens in the 

 Southwestern 

 United States, 

 1968-92 



by 

 William I. Boarman 



Kristin H. Berry 



National Biological Service 



