22 
changes. Although Texas still ranks as an important har- 
vest area, other States also rank high in numbers of doves 
harvested per land area unit. South Texas had the highest 
harvest density (123 birds per unit) followed by Missouri 
(89), Oklahoma (74), Arkansas (71), Kansas (68), North 
Texas (66), and South Dakota (54). The West-CMU States 
of Colorado and New Mexico had much lower harvest den- 
sities, each with about 12. As one entity, Texas (80) ranked 
below Missouri and slightly higher than Oklahoma and 
Arkansas. 
Composite evaluation. — Harvest pressure on mourning 
doves in the CMU is greatest in the southern portions of 
the Mid— and East-CMU tiers and lightest in the West- 
CMU. South Texas and Missouri had the highest harvests 
per land area unit. 
Distribution of Harvest in the Southern Zone 
(All Doves) 
The following discussion of harvest distribution in Mexico 
and Central America is based on data contained in Tables 
A-41 and A-42, unless otherwise indicated. Contribution 
and harvest reference areas are depicted in Table A-5 and 
Fig. 13. 
Of all doves banded in the United States and subsequently 
recovered in the Southern Zone, 89% occurred in Mexico 
and 11% in Central America. The Western Highlands of 
Mexico was the predominant recovery location with 70 % 
(Table A-41). The importance of this harvest region is con- 
firmed by the fact that its harvest ranged between 60 and 
81% of the total from each of the management unit tiers 
(Table A-42). Other important harvest regions were 
Mexico’s Northwest Coast (9%), Central Highlands (5% ), 
and Guatemala (5%). 
Mexico’s Northwest Coast was an important harvest 
region for the three western tiers (West-WMU 22%, 
East-WMU 22%, and West-CMU 12%), but few birds 
from these tiers were recovered south of the Central High- 
lands (less than 4%). In contrast, the combined Southern 
Regions 5-12 were important as harvest areas for birds 
banded in the three eastern tiers (Mid-CMU 26%, 
East-CMU 34%, and EMU 25%). No doves were recovered 
in the Yucatan Peninsula (Tables A-41 and A-42). 
Mexico (n = 882) 
Within its 1,968,400 km?, Mexico has a varied combi- 
nation of habitats, ranging from deserts to jungles. The 
country is the annual recipient of many migratory species, 
including the mourning dove. 
Nine hundred two direct recoveries of doves banded in 
the United States were reported from Mexico. Of these, 20 
were taken in unknown localities and were omitted from 
this part of the analysis. Mexico accounted for 89% of the 
total Southern Zone mourning dove harvest (Table A-41), 
However, the harvest distribution in Mexico Was not uni- 
form. Seventy-three percent of the harvest occurred in the 
three-State area of Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Michoacan, 
where a large proportion of Mexico’s grain is grown and 
where 16% of the human population occurs (Weil et al. 
1975). The Northwest Coast area of Baja California, 
Sonora, Sinaloa, and Nayarit was the location of about 10% 
of the total Mexican harvest. The rest of the harvest was 
distributed among the remaining Mexican States, with the 
important exception of the Yucatan Peninsula where no re- 
coveries were recorded. 
Region I — Northwest Coast (n = 87), — Although much 
of this region consists of desert and mountainous country, 
irrigated farming of grain crops has increased greatly along 
the coastal plain within the past 15-20 years. Mourning 
doves in large numbers are attracted to these feeding sites 
and American hunters from Arizona and California have 
increasingly visited the area to hunt doves during the past 
few years. Ten percent of Mexico’s harvest occurred in this 
region, particularly in the State of Sinaloa. The harvest 
pattern in this State followed Federal Highway 15 and is 
greatest in two areas, south of Los Mochis in the Moco- 
rito-Guamuchil area and south of Culiacan in the El 
Espinal-LaCruz-Elota area. 
Region 2— Northern Highlands (n = 21). —This region 
is composed of extensive mountain ranges and desert and 
contains only 8% of Mexico’s human population (Weil et al. 
1975). Only 2% of the total dove harvest occurred here even 
though the geographical area makes up 23% of the total 
Mexican territory. Most of the recoveries were from the 
State of Zacatecas. The more northern and larger States 
of Chihuahua and Durango were inconsequential dove har- 
vest locations. 
Region 3—Northeast Coast (n = 11).—About 1% of 
Mexico’s harvest occurred in this huge area (18% of Mexico’s 
total land area— Weil et al. 1975) bordering the United 
States. During the past 15 years, irrigated farming for 
sorghum and corn has increased greatly in this area, par- 
ticularly in Tamaulipas. Because a large white-winged dove 
harvest occurs here, we know that heavy hunting pressure 
is exerted in August, September, and October. The absence 
of a substantial mourning dove harvest is a puzzle. Possible 
explanations are that migrating mourning doves have not 
yet reached Mexico, that they use other routes into Mexico, 
or that they overfly the area. 
Region 4— Western Highlands (n = 694), — This region 
includes the lake and agricultural areas between Mexico 
City and Guadalajara. It constitutes 12% of the total land 
area and contains 20% of the human population, not 
including nearby Mexico City, which has 14% of the popu- 
lation (Weil et al. 1975). The area attracts large concen- 
trations of doves and a moderate number of hunters. As 
a result, 78% of the Mexican and 70% of the Southern Zone 
harvest occurred in this region. Distribution of the dove 
harvest in the State of Jalisco was concentrated around 
Guadalajara and northeastward along Highway 80 through 
Tepatitlan and Jalostotitlan to Encarnacion de Diaz. In 
Guanajuato, the harvest was distributed in the southwest- 
