The tables indicate that immatures are relatively more likely to 
be shot than adults in the vicinity of the banding station. Near the 
banding location, immatures were frequently more than twice as likely 
to be taken than adults, whereas in States to the south they were 
either slightly more likely (four locations) or less likely (five 
locations) to be bagged. These regional differences in relative 
recovery rates explain, in large measure, the regional differences 
in age ratios in the hunting kill that have been observed for mallards 
and black ducks (Geis and Carney, 1961). The occurrence of high 
relative recovery rates of immatures near the banding station was 
generally known; however, relative recovery rates lower than 1.00 in 
southern areas had not been expected. 
. As discussed earlier, relative recovery rates relate to the popu- 
lation of the time of banding and not to the population present in a 
specific harvest area. Thus, the relative recovery rate of 0.47 for 
black ducks banded at Perch Lake, New York and recovered in southern 
areas (table 4) means that immature black:ducks banded at Perch Lake 
were only about one-half as likely to be shot in a southern area as 
the adults banded at Perch Lake during the same months. This does 
not imply that immature black ducks become more difficult to shoot 
than adults after both age groups reach the southern area. There are 
several possible explanations for relative recovery rates of less than 
1.00 in southern areas. Since adults have a lower hunting mortality 
near the banding station than immatures, a plausible explanation is 
that a larger fraction of the pre-season adult population reaches 
southern areas. Also, as the hunting season progresses, immatures 
arriving in the South have become conditioned to shooting until 
their ability to avoid hunters is similar to that of adults. 
Recoveries from bandings at Medicine Lake National Wildlife 
Refuge in Montana were divided into northern versus southern and 
Mississippi Flyway versus Central Flyway harvest areas (table 5). 
Relative recovery rates for northern and southern areas followed 
the typical pattern described previously. The division of Medicine 
Lake recoveries between Central and Mississippi Flyways resulted in 
a relative recovery rate of only 0.76 in the Central Flyway and 1.48 
in the Mississippi Flyway. This difference was due to the larger 
proportion of the band recoveries from adults coming from the Central 
Flyway. The greater occurrence of immature recoveries in the 
Mississippi Flyway is consistent with the concept that immatures 
wander more than adults in late summer and fall. 
