Population Dynamics of Mourning Doves Banded in Missouri! 
by 
Richard D. Atkinson 
School of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife 
University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211 
Thomas S. Baskett 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Missouri Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit 
University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211 
Kenneth C. Sadler 
Missouri Department of Conservation 
Columbia, Missouri 65201 
Abstract 
Most mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) banded in eastern Missouri in 1968-76 and recovered out- 
side the State moved south-southeast into Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, 
and South Carolina. Most doves banded in central and western Missouri and recovered elsewhere moved 
south-southwest into Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, and Central America. Several central 
Missouri doves moved southeast. 
About three-fourths of the 653 direct recoveries of mourning doves banded in Missouri during 1968-76 
were made in Missouri. Adults banded in Missouri were recovered in Missouri in significantly higher 
(P < 0.05) proportions (86%) than immatures (68%), and a significantly (P < 0.05) higher propor- 
tion of adult males (93%) than adult females (73%) was recovered in the State. 
Less than 7% of the Missouri harvest of banded doves consisted of doves from other States, primarily 
from States bordering Missouri on the east. 
The average direct recovery rate for doves of all ages was 3.02%. Recovery rates varied by age, sex, 
and year of banding, Immatures had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) direct recovery rate (3.30% ) 
than adults (2.47%). The direct recovery rate for adult males was 2.56%, and for females, 2.33%. 
The overall survival rate of Missouri male doves (46.7%) differed significantly (P < 0.05) from that 
of adult females (31.2% ) banded in 1968-76. The combined survival rate for adults (42.4% ) and imma- 
tures (25.1%) differed significantly (P < 0.05). 
Hunting accounted for about 19% of immature mortality and 18% of adult mortality. Twenty per- 
cent of adult male mortality and 14% of adult female mortality was due to hunting. 
The mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is the most 
widely hunted bird in the United States. More mourning 
doves are harvested each year than all other migratory game 
birds combined; the estimated annual harvest exceeds 
49 million birds (Keeler 1977). 
‘A contribution of the Missouri Department of Conservation, 
Wildlife Division. Field work was supported principally by funds 
from Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Project W-13-R. Also 
a contribution of the Missouri Cooperative Wildlife Research 
Unit (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Management 
Institute, Missouri Department of Conservation, and School of 
Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Missouri-Columbia, 
cooperating); and of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Sta- 
tion, Project No. 184; this is Journal Series No, 9121. Publication 
costs were defrayed by the Office of Migratory Bird Manage- 
ment, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
Management of the species is mainly through hunting 
regulations. Season opening dates, season length, bag limits, 
and shooting hours have been adjusted in an attempt to alter 
numbers of doves harvested. Different manipulations are 
possible in each of three management units (Fig. 1), which 
are based on migratory pathways. 
The mourning dove breeding range extends from the 
southern portion of the Canadian provinces through the 
United States, the Greater Antilles, and Mexico (Keeler 
1977). Because the mourning dove range transcends 
national boundaries, management must be international 
in scope. Departure dates, destination of migratory doves, 
survival rates, and homing tendencies are important aspects 
of mourning dove biology that must be considered in man- 
agement decisions. 
