Goose age ratios 
goose data from a State. Age determin¬ 
ations were based on presence or absence 
of notched, blunt-tipped tail feathers. 
Data presented in this report are the re¬ 
sult of pooling data from each State with 
no recognition of differences in sampling 
intensity that may exist among parts of a 
State. The information presented herein 
may be changed slightly when a more de¬ 
tailed analysis, recognizing variation 
within States, is completed. (Table D-25). 
The Canada goose is the most impor¬ 
tant species in the bag in all States and 
Flyways, with the exception of South 
Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Louisiana, and 
Texas, where a combination of lesser 
snow and blue geese predominate, and 
New Jersey, where the brant is by far the 
most important goose in the bag. 
Canada goose age ratios showed no 
consistent trend (table D-26.) Lesser 
snow geese in all Central Flyway States 
showed a consistent increase in 1963 
compared with 1962 in the ratio of im¬ 
mature s to adult, while in California 
there was little change. Blue goose age 
ratios showed no particular pattern of 
change. White-fronted goose age ratios 
in California were substantially lower in 
1963 than 1962; a slight decline was sug¬ 
gested by the Texas sample. Black brant 
on the Pacific Coast showed a marked 
drop in the proportion of young birds in 
the bag in 1963 compared with 1962; 
brant on the Atlantic Coast showed a pro¬ 
nounced increase (table D-27). 
36 
