| In hunting States of the Central Unit, the breeding index 
increased 14 pereent above the 1959 index and is 67 percent above the 
1953 level (table 1 and figure 3). In nonhunting States, the 1959 to 
1960 trend was up 13 percent (table 1). The long term breeding-index 
trend in nonhunting States of the Central Unit is shown in figure 3 
and generally follows the trend in hunting States. The 1960 index 
is 71 percent above the 1953 level. 
Western Management Unit (figure 1) 
The breeding-population index for the Western Unit decreased 
10 percent from the 1959 level (table 1). Figure 2 shows that the 
breeding index of the Western Unit has fluctuated moderately over a 
7-year period and is now 5 percent below the 1953 level. 
Discussion of Population-index Trends 
Indexes to mourning dove breeding populations in the three 
management units have shown small changes from the 1959 level. In 
recognition of the many variables in the call-count survey,, changes 
of this magnitude are insignificant. Long-term trends in the breeding 
indexes, however, show substantial increases in the Central and Eastern 
Units and little change in the Western Unit. 
Hunting and nonhunting States in the Central Unit have shown 
practically the same percentage increase in breeding indexes over a 
7-year period, 67 percent and 71 percent respectively. Eastern Unit 
hunting States have shown a population-index increase more than twice 
as great as the nonhunting States, 45 percent and 21 percent respectively, 
over the same 7-year period. Table 2 shows that band-recovery rates 
are generally higher from doves banded during the breeding season in 
hunting States than from those banded in nonhunting States. 
For the United States as a whole, the 1960 breeding- 
population index is 6 percent above the 1959 level. The long-term 
trend has increased each year since 1953 with one exception and is 
now 40 percent above the 1953 level (table 3). 
