Age and Sex Characteristics of the Harvest 
Age and sex ratios in the teal harvest reveal many character¬ 
istics of teal populations but are influenced by the susceptibility 
of different age and sex groups to gunning pressure .and the relative 
availability of each group to hunters. These data will be reviewed 
again once a measure of comparative vulnerability to shooting for each 
age and sex group becomes available from banding. 
Age Ratios of Blue-winged Teal . Age ratios (immatures per adult) 
in the harvest are summarized in table 9. In general, ratios were 
highest in the North and declined gradually southward. The weighted 
immature:adult ratio of bluewings was higher in the Central Flyway 
(3.1) than in the Mississippi Flyway (2.3). 
Age Ratios of Green-winged Teal . The sample of green-winged teal 
was much smaller than that of bluewings and does not show the north- 
south gradation of age ratios (table 9). Age ratios are not shown for 
the Southern States of the Mississippi Flyway because sample sizes were 
too small. Flyway weighted age ratios were substantially lower for 
green-winged teal than for blue-winged teal and, unlike those for blue¬ 
winged teal, were nearly the same in each flyway. 
Sex Ratios -of Immature Blue-winged Teal . Sex ratios of immatures 
killed in the Central Flyway were 1.25, favoring males (table 10). There 
was little variation among States, excepting the ratio in Texas which 
was 2.0 m^les per female. 
Ratios from States in the northern part of the Mississippi Flyway 
favored immature females, while the reverse was true in the southern 
half of the flyway. There is, therefore, a slight suggestion that 
some immature males may migrate before the immature females. The 
Mississippi Flyway weighted ratio was 1.00 male per female in the kill. 
Sex Ratios of Immature Green-winged Teal . Sex ratios of immature 
green-winged teal in the harvest varied slightly from State to State 
(table 10). Samples of immature green-winged teal wings were small in 
most States. There was a tendency for samples from the northern tier 
of States to contain more females than males, while males were slightly 
more abundant in the harvest of the remaining States. The flyway 
weighted sex ratios of immature green-winged teal suggest that more 
males thah females were bagged in the Central Flyway (1.22 males per 
female), but that slightly more females than males in the Mississippi 
Flyway (0.92 males per female). 
Sex Ratios of Adult Blue-winged Teal . Sex ratios of adult blue¬ 
winged teal bagged in the Central Flyway generally favored females. 
However, in Nebraska and Texas, males outnumbered females by 1.4:1 and 
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