Mourning Dove Status Report, 1973

Book excerpt: Mourning dove population indices, as determined from the nationwide Call-Count Survey, decreased from 1972 to 1973 by 7% in the Eastern Management Unit, by 8% in the Central Management Unit, but increased by 8% in the Western Management Unit. The 1973 indices were below the 10-year means, 1963-1972, by 9% in the Eastern Unit, 6% in the Central Unit, and 4% in the Western Unit. Regression analyses of the call-count data for 1963-73 indicate a statistically significant downward trend in dove breeding populations in all management units; mean rates of decline per year were 1% in the Eastern, 2% in the Central and 4% in the Western Unit.