INTRODUCTION 
Sound management of waterfowl populations depends on knowledge 
of the age, sex, and species of the ducks shot during the hunting 
seasone The proportion of young in the hunting kill provides a clue 
to waterfowl production and this information can be used in interpreting 
the effects of changing habitat conditions. Knowledge of waterfowl 
production also helps in understanding the meaning of mortality rate 
estimates obtained through the analysis of band-recovery datae Used 
with banding data, it should also permit "Lincoln Index" population 
estimates. If age and sex ratios in the hunting kill are known, 
differences in migratory behavior and different effects of hunting 
on the different groups can be detected. 
Age and sex ratios in the hunting kill of upland game birds and 
mammals have been obtained from examination of diagnostic parts, such 
as wings, tails, and legs, that were solicited from hunters (Blouch 
and Ammann, 1952; and Dow, 1954). 
In 1958, we began exploration of the possibility of applying 
this technique to waterfowl. First, a small-scale pilot study was 
conducted in western Minnesota to see if hunters would send enough 
material to make the method practical. Hunter response was considered 
very satisfactory, for 169 of 666 hunters to whom letters were sent 
returned 1,099 wings. At the same time, wings of birds of known age 
and sex were studied in the laboratory and a technique was developed 
by which the age and sex of mallards could be determined with more 
than 95 per cent accuracy (Carney and Geis, 1960). 
Exploratory studies were expanded in 1959, when a survey was 
undertaken in the Mississippi Flyway. This paper reports the results 
of this second study, which was made jointly by the States of the 
Mississippi Flyway and the Bureau. 
Because this was a pilot study, the procedures used in selecting 
and drawing samples, processing information, and analysing the data 
must be considered both experimental and developmental. Consequently, 
some implications of the accumulated data have not been fully explored, 
and future refinements of techniques can be expected. The objectives 
of the study were: 
1. To determine response rates to requests for wings. 
2. To determine the representativeness of the submitted samples 
by comparing the wing-collection data with data obtained 
by other methods. 
3e To determine the species composition in the hunting kill in 
various parts of the Mississippi Flyway. 
4. To determine age and sex ratios for the commoner species. 
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