game license holders (Table A-2). Since Arkansas did not 
conduct such a survey, the Arkansas harvest was arbitrarily 
computed as an average of the combined Missouri and 
Oklahoma harvests. The second method was to multiply 
the most recent U.S. harvest figure of 49 million by 
0.30, the CMU proportion of the total harvest, as deter- 
mined by Ruos and Tomlinson (1968). We conclude that 
the annual CMU mourning dove harvest is probably 
between 12 and 14.7 million birds. Numbers of mourning 
dove hunters in the CMU during the same time period prob- 
ably exceeded 600,000 annually. 
Latin America. — The extent of the mourning dove har- 
vest in Mexico and Central America is unknown. However, 
because of the large numbers of recoveries obtained there 
(1,944), it is suspected that Latin America might account 
for a significant proportion of the continental harvest. This 
proportion will undoubtedly increase as the emerging coun- 
tries become more affluent and as tourism expands through 
more efficient transportation. 
Hunting Regulations 
Hunting regulations directly affect the numbers of 
mourning doves harvested as well as the temporal and geo- 
graphical distribution of the recoveries, Thus, the types and 
timing of hunting regulations in effect during the banding 
and recovery periods are important to interpretation of the 
data contained herein. 
United States. — Federal frameworks establish the maxi- 
mum limits under which annual migratory bird-hunting 
regulations may be set in the United States. State regula- 
tions may be more restrictive but not more liberal than the 
limits prescribed by the Federal frameworks. During the 
study period, Federal frameworks allowed mourning dove 
seasons of 70 half days in the EMU, 60 full days in the CMU, 
and 50 full days in the WMU within the 41%-month period 
of | September to 15 January. Daily bag limits were 10 or 
12, and possession limits after the first day were twice the 
daily bag limit (in the EMU, an 18-bird limit was allowed 
for a special study in 1969 and 1970), 
In the CMU, 10 of 14 States selected mourning dove sea- 
sons during all or some of the years of the study period 
(Table A-3), Three States had full or abbreviated seasons 
as follows: South Dakota, 5-17 days in September during 
1967-72; Wyoming, 16-30 days in September during 
1973-76: and Nebraska, 30-45 days in September and 
October during 1975-76. Montana, North Dakota, Minne- 
sota, and Iowa elected to have no dove-hunting seasons 
whereas Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Okla- 
homa, Arkansas, and Texas chose maximum or near-maxi- 
mum seasons within the frameworks throughout the study 
period. Four of the hunting States (Missouri, Arkansas, New 
Mexico, and Texas) split their seasons during part of the 
study period; this action allowed an early harvest in Sep- 
tember and/or October and a delayed harvest November 

through January. Texas was allowed to set separate seasons 
in each of two zones (north and south). 
Latin America. —In Mexico, hunting seasons are de- 
limited annually in the “Diario” or Federal Register, but 
they vary widely from year to year. In addition, regulations 
can be changed at any time during the season by special 
decree of the Director General of their Federal Wildlife De- 
partment, Only in the past few years has Mexico begun to 
enforce its game laws and regulations. Mexican dove- 
hunting seasons varied widely during the study period 
(Table A-4). Generally, during 1967-70 hunting seasons for 
mourning doves began in the northern part of the Republic 
in August and ended 31 October. The rest of the country 
initiated dove seasons either in October or November and 
the seasons continued through at least December, During 
1971 and 1972, the seasons began early (1 August and 
1 September, respectively) and ended 28 February through- 
out the Republic. In 1973-74 the seasons began 1 November 
and ended 28 February throughout Mexico, except for a 
long season in the northwest. During 1975-77 some seasons 
began early and continued through February and March. 
However, the State of Jalisco (an important harvest area) 
opened somewhat later each year. The inconsistency of 
hunting season dates throughout Mexico made analysis of 
migrational chronology in our study difficult, 
Daily bag limits in Mexico varied between 10 and 15 
birds except that 5 and 20 were allowed on weekends dur- 
ing some years. Possession limits were not imposed until 
1975 when a 30-bird limit was established. In 1977 foreign 
hunters could legally export 60 mourning doves as well as 
the possession limits of other game birds (e.g., 60 white- 
winged doves, Zenaida asiatica). 
Hunting seasons in Central America were poorly defined 
or nonexistent. Central American countries generally did 
not establish mourning dove seasons during the study 
period. 
Central Management Unit Preseason 
Banding Program 
During the early 1960's, preliminary analysis of existing 
mourning dove banding data revealed a need for larger and 
more representative banding samples from throughout the 
United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working 
with the respective Management Unit Dove Technical 
Committees, planned a comprehensive nationwide mourn- 
ing dove banding program in 1966. The program was 
designed to improve quality and distribution of dove band- 
ing throughout the country. Originally scheduled for 5 years 
beginning in [966, the study was delayed and extended be- 
cause several States could not participate initially or fully. 
The banding effort therefore eventually covered 9 years 
from 1967 through 1975 (1967-74 in the CMU). 
Annual banding quotas were established as guidelines for 
all participating States (R. K. Martinson, unpublished re- 
