.'- 







United States Department of the In£eri®r D 

 Fish and Wildlife Service 



Wildlife Leaflet 250 



,^f,\iV^ 



Chicago, 111. 



December 1943 



THE STATUS OF MIGRATORY GAME BIRDS: 1942-43 



Prepared in the oection of Migratory Bird Investigations 

 Division of Wildlife Research ' ■ 



Contents 



Page 

 Introduction . I 



Part 1; Migratory waterfowl... .. , 2 



Spring migration. ........... 2 



Breeding-ground surveys. .... 2 



Canada .2 



Alaska. ................ 4 



Newfoundland. .......... 5 . 



Mexico 5 



Nesting conditions" in 

 the United States. ... 6 

 Fall migration 7 . 



Page 

 Part Is Migratory water fowl — Con. 



Wintering-ground survey S 



January inventory. .- 8 



Part 2: Other migratory game 



birds - 9 



Woodcock ■. 9 



. . Wilson's snipe..- .. i0 9 



Rails and coots ...... .10 



Mourning dove. ..»:>.> , . 10 



white-winged dove. 10 



Band-tailed pigeon % 11 



INTRODUCTION , 



Determination of the current status of the different species of migra- 

 tory game birds is, at best, a complicated assignment. Nevertheless, despite ■ 

 added difficulties resulting from ; the war,, the work has been continued with 

 the objectives of giving sound management to a natural resource of unquestioned 

 value, and of preserving it .for the continued use of the American 'people. 



For reasons of economy, the present account, beginning with the spring 

 migration of 1942 and ending with the inventory of January, 1943, is very -brief. 

 It represents no more than summary of many detailed reports prepared by co- 

 operating naturalists and by officers of the Fish and Wildlife Service and of 

 the National Parks Bureau of Canada. It will serve to maintain the continuity 

 of the series dating from 1936, 



