INTRODUCTION 
An annual survey of the breeding population of mourning 
doves by a system of call-count routes provides an index to 
the status of the dove population in the United States. 
Through the cooperation of State, Bureau, and independent 
observers, call-count routes were widely established by 1953. 
The hundreds of cooperators who participate in the call-count 
survey have contributed the data that form the basis for this 
report. 
Prior to 1960, the annual status of the mourning dove 
population was reported in the Mourning Dove Newsletter. The 
Newsletter continues as a report on activities in mourning 
dove research and management on a national scale, but the 
annual report on status of the population, used chiefly for 
regulatory purposes, is published separately. The 1960, 1961,. 
and 1962 Status Reports were published as Special Scientific-- 
Wildlife Series Nos. 49, 57, and 70 respectively. 
In 1961, dove-call routes were set up and run on a trial 
basis in several Canadian Provinces. Results of these trial 
routes emphasized the desirability of establishing and main- 
aining a dove-call census in Canada. 
The Canadian dove-call census was conducted again in 1962 
and 1963, and the results of the cénsuses for those years are 
set forth in table 4. 
It is expected that, with the establishment of additional 
routes, the compilation of sufficient comparable data, and the 
incorporation of suitable weighting factors, the data provided 
by the Canadian cooperators will prove extremely valuable in 
future management of the mourning dove. 
The call-count survey is conducted each year during the 
period May 20-June 10. Intensive studies conducted in the 
Eastern United States (Special Scientific Report--Wildlife 
No. 17, 1952) indicate that dove calling activity is relatively 
stable during this period. 
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