Table 4.— For each of several food items, the percentage of bobwhite crops containing that food and the percentage of 

 the total volume of crop contents comprised by that food in bobwhite crops collected in southern Illinois during the period of 

 normal weather conditions and during the period in which snow covered the ground to a minimum depth of 4 inches in the 1950 

 and 1951 hunting seasons combined. 



•Includes all foods forming 0.25 per cent or more of the volume in any subdivision of this table. 

 tNovember 11 through December 5, 1950, plus the entire 1951 hunting season (3,599 crops). 

 + December 6 through December 11, 1950 (236 crops). 



DIETARY TRENDS 



The kinds and amounts of food found in crops from 

 bobwhites killed during the first 10 days of each 31-day 

 hunting season were compared with those of bobwhites 

 killed during the last 10 days, table 5, to determine if 

 dietary trends were indicated within the period for which 

 data were available. The last 10-day period included 

 the deep snow of December 6-11, 1950, which resulted 

 in marked dietary changes; some interpretation of the 

 data is necessary to take into account the effect of 

 deep snow. 



The volume of animal foods declined and that of 

 plant foods increased as the season progressed. Similar 

 trends appeared in other studies (Gray 1940; Korschgen 

 1948). Slugs were a notable exception to the general 

 downward trend of animal food in Illinois. They not 

 only appeared in the crops in greater quantities as the 



Individual plant foods found in crops in increased 

 volume during the latter part of the hunting season in- 

 cluded soybean, Korean and Japanese lespedezas, white 

 sassafras, and smooth sumac. The volumes of com, 

 acorns, wheat, and desmodium were not characterized 

 by marked change. The volumes of all remaining foods 

 declined considerably. 



Because the two 10-day periods compared were sep>- 

 arated by only 11 days, an insufficient time to allow 

 for much change, the trends are perhaps more apparent 

 than real. However, some of the Illinois findings parallel 

 observations made in other studies. Gray (1940) found 

 that the volume of bush clovers in the diet of Alabama 

 bobwhites increased through November, December, Jan- 

 uary, and February. Korschgen (1948) found in Missouri 

 bobwhites that bush clovers increased in volume from 

 early November to the end of December. In the present 

 study, a greater volume of bush clovers occurred in the 



season progressed, table 5, but also remained part of last 10 days of each hunting season than in the first 10 

 the diet during the period of deep snow, table 4. days. It appears that at least some of the long-term 



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