Finds 
co p 
LZ 7; 
WESTERN 
MANAGEMENT 
UNIT CENTRAL EASTERN AY 
MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT 
UNIT UNIT 
Fig. 1. Mourning dove management units, after Kiel (1959). 
Analysis of banding data is an important accepted 
method of determining aspects of the population dynamics 
and related biology of the mourning dove. To provide such 
data, the Missouri Department of Conservation initiated 
a summer dove banding program in north-central Missouri 
in 1953. Resulting data, 1953-67, were analyzed and 
reported by Wight (1954), Tomlinson et al. (1960), and 
Henry (1970). During the late 1960’s the program was ex- 
panded to include southeastern and southwestern Missouri. 
The present paper reports on data gathered from 1968 
through 1976; additional details are available in Atkinson 
(1978). 
Specific objectives of the study were as follows: (1) to 
investigate geographical and chronological dispersal of 
Missouri-produced doves, (2) to estimate mortality rates by 
age and sex groups, (3) to determine production needed to 
maintain a stable population with existing mortality rates, 
and (4) to determine to what extent doves produced in other 
States contribute to the total harvest in Missouri. 
Materials and Methods 
Banding and Recovery Data 
The banding and recovery data analyzed in this study 
were made available by the Bird Banding Laboratory, 
Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wild- 
life Service, Laurel, Maryland. Only adult mourning doves 
of known sex, and immature mourning doves banded in 
May-August, were used in this analysis. Mourning doves 
banded in Missouri during this period were considered to 
be Missouri-produced doves; those banded earlier may have 
been transients migrating through the State. Only recoveries 
reported as “shot” from September through February 
1968-75 and September-December 1976 were considered 
in this paper. 

CENTRAL 
WESTERN EASTERN 
Fig. 2. Locations of 20 dove banding sites within three Missouri 
banding regions. Key: 1. St. Joseph; 2. Pony Express Wildlife 
Area, Dekalb County; 3. Trimble Wildlife Area, Clinton County; 
4. Butler; 5. Montrose Wildlife Area, Henry County; 6. Rich 
Hill; 7. Schell-Osage Wildlife Area, Vernon County; 8. Mt. 
Vernon; 9, Fountain Grove Wildlife Area, Linn County; 10. 
Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Chariton County; 11. 
Charles W. Green Wildlife Area and Bradford Farm, Boone 
County; 12. Versailles; 13, Freedom; 14. Upper Mississippi Wild- 
life Area, Lincoln County; 15. Elsberry; 16. Weldon Springs; 
17, Portage Des Sioux; 18. Duck Creek Wildlife Area, Stoddard 
County; 19. Sikeston; and 20. Malden. 
For analysis, Missouri was divided into three regions: 
eastern Missouri, east of 91° west longitude; central 
Missouri, between 91 and 93° west longitude; and west- 
ern Missouri, west of 93° west longitude (Fig. 2). 
Breeding Density Index (BDI) 
As part of a national Call-count Survey (Dolton 1977), 
counts were conducted on 20 routes in Missouri each year 
of the study period. Five routes were in the eastern region, 
eight in the central region, and seven in the western region. 
Call-count Survey procedures and Breeding Density Index 
data for each State having recoveries in Missouri were de- 
rived from the 1976 Mourning Dove Status Report (Dolton 
1977). 
Land Area Index (LAI) 
The Land Area Index for Missouri and for each State pro- 
viding a recovery in Missouri was obtained from Dolton 
(1977). 
