margin. Following are the weapons and shot sizes used in taking of the 
cranes checked: 
Number = Number 
Shot Gun Size Birds Taken : Shot Size Birds Taken 
12-gauge 106 #ly 60 
12-gauge 3" mag. 14 : 2 55 
16-gauge Wy : BB 18 
20-gauge 5 00 buck 9 
Not stated . 6 9 
buck 1 
h3 : 152 * 
*#In some cases more than one shot size was noted for one bird. 
(i) Distribution of harvest by time of day and day of season: The 
early morning hours of the day were by far the most productive for the 
mnter. Of all birds checked, 81 percent were taken before 10:30 a.m. 
The distribution of the harvest is listed below. It seems evident that 
an opening hour of 8:00 a.m. could be expected to reduce the kill signifi- 
cantly if that were ever desirable. 
Number Number 
Time of Kill Birds Time of Kill Birds 
6:30 asm. to 8:30 a.m =. 72 12:45 pom. to 3:00 pm oO 
8:31 a.om. to 10:30 a.m 5 3:01 pom. to 5:00 p.m 9 
10:31 a.wm. to 12:5 pom 8 Not stated 1 
Usually by 10:30 a.m. the birds had finished feeding aml could be 
seen circling in great flocks so high that, when viewed from the ground, 
they were almost indistinguishable. 
The harvest was largely accomplished during the first week of the 
season. After tat tim, as is shown in Table 1, the cranes had moved 
from. New Mexico into Texas. Had the open season included west Texas, 
a more complete evaluation of the effects of hunting on the cranes could 
have been made. A breakdowm of the mrvest of birds checked is shown 
14 
