
rate was low. Unless more efficient procedures for capturing locals 
can be devised, it may not be feasible to band enough locals to pro- 
vide useful datas It would be highly desireable to band a large 
sample of local and immature birds in the same area to determine the 
extent to which immatures have the same distribution pattern as 
locals. Bait-trapping of flying birds has been much more productive 
than capture of locals, both in number banded and number recovered. 
Wintering-qround Bandin 
Wintering-ground banding provides information on the distribu- 
tion of the hunting kill of wintering populations. Recovery rates\ 
from wintering ground banding, in conjunction with recovery rates 
from pre-season banding, provide information on the total mortality 
that occurs during the hunting season. 
Very little banding was done during the wintering period 
(January and February) in the present program. During 1959-60, 131 
wood ducks were banded in the wintering period; Florida banders. 
supplied 3126 of the total. There were no recoveries. 
DISTRIBUTION PATTERN OF RECOVERIES 
The distribution pattern of direct recoveries during 1959-60 is 
presented in table 3 (Atlantic Flyway)and table 4 (Mississippi Flyway). 
The small number of recoveries for many States of banding in the- 
Atlantic Flyway is apparent in the table. Only two States had a 
' sufficient number of recoveries to show a harvest pattern. The most. 
important outstate-recovery areas for birds banded in New York 
appeared to be Ontario, North Carolina, and Florida. Vermont out- 
state recoveries were mainly in Quebec, South Carolina, North 
Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. 
The results of the greater banding effort in the Mississippi 
Flyway can be seen in table 4. The States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana had enough recoveries to 
indicate the most important areas of harvest outside the State of 
banding. Birds banded in Wisconsin were recovered most frequently 
in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, 
Recoveries of birds banded in Minnesota appeared primarily in Wisconsin, 
Louisiana, Arkansas,and Alabama. The most important States in the ~ 
recovery of birds banded in Michigan were Louisiana and Arkansas. 
Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Mississippi were the primary States of 
recovery for birds banded in Illinois. Birds banded in Indiana were 
recovered in greatest numbers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 
Birds banded in Missouri appeared most often in Arkansas, Louisiana, 
and Texas. 
