that the bags of five species—black ducks 
(217, 900), mallards (140, 900), wood ducks 
(125, 000), ring-necked ducks (68, 600), 
and green-winged teal (61, 800)—totaled 
614, 200 ducks or 69 percent of the Fly¬ 
way bag of all species. The bags of 
most species of ducks increased. The 
bag of greater scaup decreased 13 per¬ 
cent, whereas the bag of old squaw and 
eider decreased 32 percent and the bag 
of scoters decreased 17 percent. 
The total Flyway goose bag of an esti¬ 
mated 161, 000 birds increased 42 percent 
over the previous season. An additional 
27, 300 geese were knocked down but not 
retrieved, for a total kill (bag plus crip¬ 
ples) of approximately 188, 300 geese 
(table D-18). All States registered in¬ 
creases in the goose bag except Con¬ 
necticut, Florida, Massachusetts, and 
West Virginia, which decreased, and 
Rhode Island, which showed no change 
over the previous season (table D-18). 
An estimated 47, 300 coots were bag¬ 
ged in the Flyway, an increase of 25 
percent over the previous season. An 
additional 15, 700 coots were knocked 
down but not retrieved, yielding a total 
kill (bag plus cripples) of about 63, 000 
coots. 
At the State level, 11 States register¬ 
ed increases in the total duck bag, where¬ 
as 6 States registered decreases. The 
kill in Georgia increased 137 percent 
over the previous season owing to an 84 
percent increase in the number of active 
hunters and an increase in the mean kill 
of ducks per hunter (table D-19). 
A total of approximately 211, 100 
waterfowl hunters were afield during a 
total of 1, 275, 900 hunter-days, regis¬ 
tering increases of 11 and 10 percent, 
respectively, over the previous season. 
AGE RATIOS OF SOME IMPORTANT SPECIES OF DUCKS KILLED DURING 
1963-64 HUNTING SEASON COMPARED WITH THOSE OF PRIOR YEARS 
Data supplied by Glen Smart 
Division of Wildlife Research 
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 
Abstract 
The ratio of immature to adult ducks 
in the hunting kill of mallards, black 
ducks, blue-winged teal, pintails, and 
wood ducks are presented for the years 
1961 through 1963. There was a general 
increase in the 1963 age ratios of these 
species above those in 1962. Although 
Central Flyway mallard age ratios in¬ 
creased, they were lowest in the Nation 
for the third consecutive year. Of all the 
species discussed, blue-winged teal age 
ratios showed the largest continentwide 
increase. Except for mallards in the 
Pacific Flyway, age ratios in the kill of 
all species were higher in the northern 
parts of the Flyways. 
To determine the age ratio in the pre¬ 
season population, it is necessary to use 
recovery rates from preseason bandings 
to measure the extent to which immature s 
were more likely to be shot than adults. 
When the age ratio in the kill is adjusted 
for difference in vulnerability, the age 
ratio in the preseason continental mal¬ 
lard population was 0. 8 immatures to 
adult in 1962 and 1. 0 in 1963, while the 
age ratio in the 1963 preseason pintail 
population was about 0. 8 immatures to 
adult. 
Introduction 
The age ratios (immature to adult) in 
the duck kill discussed here were deter¬ 
mined from wings received in the wing 
collection surveys conducted in the 
Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways since 
1960 and in all Flyways since 1961. In 
order to estimate the age ratio in the kill 
for a Flyway, or for the entire United 
States, the age ratio from each State was 
weighted in proportion to the kill in that 
State as derived from the results of the 
Bureau 1 s mail questionnaire survey. 
Weighted age ratios for 1962 are subject 
to some revision since revised kill 
32 
