ABSTRACT 
An index to the 1965 mourning dove breeding population 
was obtained by a call-count survey conducted throughout the 
United States. Trends in the breeding population index were 
calculated for three management units and for hunting and non- 
hunting States within the management units. Trends in the 
breeding population indexes from 1964 to 1965 were as follows: 
Eastern Unit down 3 percent. Central Unit down 5 percent, and 
Western Unit down 14 percent. For the United States as a whole, 
the 1965 breeding population was down 6 percent from 1964. 
Indexes of all three management units indicate that the 
breeding dove populations have not maintained their increased 
numbers of last year and nearly approximate those of 1963 
when populations hit a 3-year low. 
In comparison with the 10-year average breeding popula¬ 
tion indexes (1955-64), the 1965 indexes are 1.4 percent lower 
for the Eastern Management Unit, 11 percent lower for the 
Central Management Unit, and 2.5 percent lower for the Western 
Management Unit. For the United States, the breeding popula¬ 
tion is 7.4 percent below the 10-year average. 
Summaries of call-count surveys conducted in Canada dur¬ 
ing 1964 and 1965 are included. The average numbers of doves 
heard on comparable routes in Ontario and British Columbia 
increased 25 and 4 percent, respectively. 
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