southeasterly direction across the Central Flyway to the lower 
Mississippi region (figs. 8, 9, and 10). If we consider only recov¬ 
eries in the United States, about 74 percent of recoveries from 
bandings in southwestern Alberta were from the Pacific Flyway, but 
only 9 percent were from bandings in southwestern Saskatchewan 
(table 25). 
Northern Alberta, northwestern Saskatchewan, and all of 
Mackenzie Territory were provisionally grouped with these reference 
areas of widely varied kill patterns. 
Northern Plains group 
Reference areas in this region show a continuation of the 
shifting of kill patterns described above, but recoveries in the 
Pacific Flyway were lacking, and essentially all birds moved 
through or within the Central Flyway to the lower Mississippi or 
Gulf Coast regions. Recoveries were generally southeast from 
Saskatchewan and Montana, to the central Mississippi region and 
then south to the Gulf Coast, but were somewhat more directly 
southerly from western Manitoba and the Dakotas (figs. 11 to 14). 
A somewhat lower proportion of Canadian bandings was recovered in 
the Central Flyway as compared to bandings from within the Flyway 
(table 25). The difference was probably caused by the higher 
vulnerability of ducks in the vicinity of banding stations, as this 
factor would affect only birds banded within the Flyway. 
West-central United States group 
Recoveries from bandings in Wyoming, Colorado, and States to 
the south within the Central Flyway were nearly all from within the 
Central Flyway (table 25 and figs. 15 and 16). The populations in 
reference areas of this region can, for practical purposes, be con¬ 
sidered resident. Most recoveries were in the general vicinity of 
the banding station or were randomly scattered from it, and there 
was only a slight tendency for southward movement into Texas or the 
lower Mississippi region. 
Eastern Prairie and Great Lakes group 
Recoveries from bandings in eastern Manitoba, Keewatin, Ontario, 
excepting the southeastern corner, and all States in the Mississippi 
Flyway having breeding populations of mallards were primarily in the 
Mississippi Flyway. Recoveries from bandings in Minnesota (fig. 17) 
and southeastern Manitoba were on a broad front south through the 
States bordering the Mississippi River. Kill patterns from other 
reference areas in the region are ill-defined, a reflection of the 
relatively small population and consequent small number of bandings 
available for analysis. A high proportion of recoveries, however, 
was in the Province or State of banding. 
15 
