12 
cluded in Region 7), each Central American country was 
considered as a separate region. These regions and their 
corresponding identification numbers are referred to 
throughout the text. 
Trapping and Banding 
Although doves were captured in a variety of ways, most 
were taken in wire-mesh funnel traps baited with small 
grain (Reeves et al. 1968). Selected areas were prebaited 
with grains such as sorghums, cracked corn, wheat, and 
millet, and funnel traps were set after doves were attracted 
to the areas. Traps were checked frequently to empty them 
for additional birds and to prevent mortality from preda- 
tion and exposure. Banders were encouraged to distribute 
their trapping activities intermittently throughout the 
3-month period of June-August and over wide geographi- 
cal areas. Trapping was generally terminated at least 
10 days before the hunting season which usually began in 
early September. Some trapping, however, continued 
throughout August, especially in non-hunting States. 
Trapped mourning doves were banded with standard 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service number 3A aluminum leg 
bands. Data on sex, age, date of capture, location of cap- 
ture, and band number were recorded and submitted later 
on banding schedule forms to the BBL where they were 
stored in computer data banks for later retrieval. 
Age and Sex Classification 
Banders used several criteria in determining the age 
(immature or adult) and sex of doves captured. Immature 
doves were distinguished from adults by the presence of 
white or buffy coloration of the tips of primary and pri- 
mary covert wing feathers until they had completed their 
post-juvenal molt. When wing feathers had been replaced 
completely by adult plumage during the progression of 
molt— usually in late summer—captured doves were re- 
corded as “age unknown” when banded. Adult doves were 
classified as to sex by differences in the coloration of crown 
and breast plumage. Males generally have bluish crowns 
and pink breasts, whereas females have gray or brown 
crowns and tan breasts. The diagnostic sex characters of 
immatures are generally not developed sufficiently to allow 
sex identification — thus, all captured immatures were re- 
corded as “unknown sex.” Sometimes adults also exhibited 
uncertain external sexual characteristics, and they too were 
recorded as unknown sex. Details on methods for ascertain- 
ing age and sex of mourning doves captured during the 
summer are described by Reeves et al. (1968). 
Data Extraction 
Data used in this analysis were extracted in the fall of 1977 
from the banding and recovery retrieval files maintained 
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s BBL at Laurel, 
Maryland. These files are described in detail in Part 6 of 
Volume 1 of the North American Bird Banding Manual 
(U.S. Department of the Interior and Canada Department 
of Environment 1972, 1977). The BBL’s retrieval files are 
updated annually in early autumn and include nearly all 
band recovery data through the previous hunting season. 
Thus, recoveries of doves banded in the CMU were avail- 
able through the 1976-77 hunting season, the third hunting 
season following the last year of the cooperative preseason 
banding in CMU. Banding records for the EMU and WMU 
and recoveries in the CMU, Mexico, and Central America 
were also extracted. Records were placed on magnetic tapes 
for further editing and reformatting, and for tabulation and 
calculation. 
Data Criteria, Reformatting, 
and Tabulations 
Data used in the analysis were selected by criteria speci- 
fied in Table A-6, Our objectives were to identify for analy- 
sis those data that were (1) pertinent to bandings and 
resultant recoveries of mourning doves marked in the CMU 
during preseason banding periods of 1967-74, and (2) all 
recoveries in the CMU and the Southern Zone of doves 
banded in the EMU and WMU during 1967-75, Only 
records of “normal wild” banded and recovered doves were 
sought as only they would represent characteristics of the 
CMU mourning dove population to be studied. 
In the extractions from the retrieval files, all “How 
Obtained” code records initially were examined to deter- 
mine the proportion of recoveries that resulted from hunt- 
ing related activities. Recoveries that had been assigned to 
four “How Obtained” codes (00, 01, 56, and 98 and pre- 
sumably related to hunting activities) made up 97.5% of 
all recovery records (Table A-7). For doves recovered in 
the Southern Zone during 1 August through 31 May, all 
“How Obtained” records were retained for analysis; non- 
hunting related records were deleted for birds recovered 
during 1 September through 31 January in the United 
States. 
The “Who Reported” code categorizes the identification 
or affiliation of the individual who reported the band to 
the BBL. Of the total recoveries, 69% were reported by 
the person (or a close personal associate) who actually found 
or shot the banded dove, and 27% were reported by con- 
servation agency personnel. All “Who Reported” codes were 
used in the analysis. 
The “Why Reported” code identifies the impetus or cause 
that led to the band being reported. Ninety-three percent 
of all recoveries were reported as a result of a voluntary 
action, whereas 4% were coded as resulting from solicited 
reporting. Recoveries representing all “Why Reported” 
codes were retained for the analysis. 
Recoveries of birds banded in the CMU and recovered 
anywhere were retained if the State or foreign country was 

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