
Migration, Harvest, and Population Dynamics 
of Mourning Doves Banded in the 
Central Management Unit, 1967-77 
by 
James H. Dunks’ 
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 
Austin, Texas 78744 
Roy E. Tomlinson 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Office of Migratory Bird Management 
Albuquerque, New Mexico 
Henry M. Reeves 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Office of Migratory Bird Management 
Washington, D.C. 
David D. Dolton 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Office of Migratory Bird Management 
Laurel, Maryland 
Clait E. Braun 
Colorado Department of Natural Resources 
Fort Collins, Colorado 
Thomas P. Zapatka 
New Mexico Game and Fish Department 
Albuquerque, New Mexico 
Abstract 
A banding program for mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) was conducted by the 14 Central Man- 
agement Unit(CMU) States and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during 1967-74. Banding and recovery 
records, as well as data from annual call-count and harvest surveys, were subsequently analyzed by 
a subcommittee of the Central Migratory Shore and Upland Game Bird Technical Committee. This 
paper presents information on mourning dove habitat, hunting regulations, and harvest in the CMU; 
distribution and derivation of band recoveries in and from the CMU; distribution of mourning dove 
harvest in Mexico and Central America; chronology of migration; survival and recovery rates; effects 
of hunting on CMU mourning dove populations; and indirect nationwide mourning dove population 
estimates. 
Of 332,314 doves banded preseason in the CMU, 9,067 were subsequently recovered. Of the 5,266 
direct recoveries, most were obtained within the CMU (79%) and in Latin America (15%); the Eastern 
Management Unit (EMU) and Western Management Unit (WMU) reported 6 and 1%, respectively. 
‘Present address: Ducks Unlimited, 7806 Phoenix Pass, Austin, 
Texas 78737. 
