by Flyway Biologist Morton Smith were 
responsible for much of the increase, but 
substantial numbers of birds were banded 
by the Minnesota Division of Game at 
Roseau River and by Bureau personnel at 
Shiawassee, Horicon, Agassiz, Upper 
Souris, Lower Souris, and other National 
Wildlife Refuges (table C-l). 
The number of black ducks banded in 
1963 was only slightly higher than in 1962. 
For the most part, bandings in 1963 were 
small and resulted in little usable data, 
but bandings from the States of Maine and 
New York were sizable and fair numbers 
of birds were banded in Ontario, Quebec, 
and Nova Scotia (table C-2). 
Direct recovery rates from 1963 pre- 
hunting-season bandings of mallards and 
black ducks presented in this report were 
based on 100 or more banded birds. The 
numbers of banded birds used for calcula¬ 
ting the rates in earlier years may be 
found in Special Scientific Report—Wild¬ 
life No. 60 and Administrative Reports 
12 and 22. 
MALLARDS 
Recovery rates 
The direct recovery rates of mallards 
banded in Pacific Flyway States showed 
no definite trend since 1962 (table C-3, 
p. 101). Recovery rates from six banding 
stations showed increases (among adult 
rates, three; immatures, three) while 
rates at seven banding sites decreased 
from 1962 (adults, four; immatures, 
three). 
Among mallards banded in the Central 
Flyway, shooting mortality in 1963 ap¬ 
peared to be higher than in 1962. Direct 
recovery rates of adult mallards from 
five banding stations in Montana and the 
Dakotas increased markedly: the un¬ 
weighted mean recovery rate in 1963 
(4. 2) for those stations was 150 percent 
higher than in 1962 (1.7). Recovery rates 
for immatures increased at all stations 
except Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge 
in northeastern South Dakota. (Recovery 
rates for immatures banded at Sand Lake 
have been inconsistent with the rates for 
the rest of the Flyway in other years also; 
for example, in 1962 the immature re¬ 
covery rate increased while rates from 
all other banding stations decreased). 
The increase in the average recovery rate 
for immature mallards banded at those 
stations was over 100 percent, increas¬ 
ing from 2.4 in 1962 to 5. 2 in 1963. Thus 
recovery rates for mallards banded in 
Central Flyway States increased signi¬ 
ficantly from 1962 and regained the level 
of rates that occurred in 1961 (table 
C-3), 
Direct recovery rates of mallards 
banded in the Mississippi Flyway in¬ 
creased in 1963 but not to the extent of 
those in the Central Flyway. The un¬ 
weighted average recovery rate for im¬ 
mature mallards from five comparable 
Mississippi Flyway stations was 7.4 in 
1962 and 9. 9 in 1963. The average rate 
for adults from three comparable sta¬ 
tions increased from 4.2 in 1962 to 6.7 
this year. These data suggest that kill 
rates for adult and for immature mal¬ 
lards in the Mississippi Flyway in¬ 
creased 60 and 34 percent, respectively. 
Recovery data from mallard bandings 
in the Atlantic Flyway were too few to 
demonstrate any trend in kill rates. 
Comparable rates from banding stations 
in New York showed that rates from two 
stations decreased, one increased, and 
one was about the same as 1962. 
Direct recovery rates of adult mal¬ 
lards banded in the Prairie Provinces 
of Canada showed a decline in 1963; 
rates of immature birds banded in that 
area showed a very slight increase 
from 1962. We might conclude that 
there was no change in the kill rates of 
mallards banded in Canada, but addi¬ 
tional banding stations in Saskatchewan 
and Manitoba this year make the com¬ 
parison with 1962 unreliable. 
Not only have bandings in the Prairie 
Provinces been relatively small in 
recent years, but the locations of 
the banding stations have changed 
(hence, there is lack of comparability 
of data). One of the most ap¬ 
parent needs in the pre-hunting- 
season banding program is a se¬ 
ries of well-distributee permanent 
22 
