108 Game Survey of the North Central States 



probably "vermin" that did it. If one planted again, failure might be coverted 

 into success. 



I likewise had no idea that success or failure were determined by anything 

 more complex than the general climate, which one could feel or look up in the 

 weather reports, and by those visible aspects of food, cover, predators, and law- 

 observance which one can see with the naked eye. If the climate and the land- 

 scape resembled the native range, success was assumed to be only a matter of 

 persistent effort. 



This personal approach to the problem of exotic plantings is mentioned only 

 to show that the facts discovered during the survey, and now to be described, 

 were not interpreted in the light of some pre-conceived personal notion. 



During the survey Dr. John C. Phillips published (1928) his bulletin, "Wild 

 Birds Introduced or Transplanted in North America," in which four of the six 

 types of behavior recognized in the following captions are definitely described. 

 This, however, was not read until the survey had been completed, and until the 

 recognition of six types had been forced upon me by the accumulation of evidence 

 in the field. This coincidence of conclusions constitutes strong evidence of the 

 reality of the classification first conceived by Phillips. 



The types of behavior will first be defined, and their geographic distribu- 

 tion roughly indicated. Later examples of each type will be given in detail. 

 Published history will be used where available; where not, my own field notes on 

 the verbal statements of local observers will have to suffice. 



Definitions. Three types of failure occur in the plants of both species so 

 far made in the north central region. 



The first is dispersal failure, in which planted birds disperse and disappear 

 without breeding. This is common in both species along the southern edge of 

 the region. 



The second is straggling failure, in which the planted birds breed, often 

 vigorously the first year, but with rapidly declining vigor, until after a few years 

 only straggling non-breeding adults remain, and finally these too disappear. This 

 type of behavior occurs in the plants of both species which do not immediately 

 disperse. My impression is that dispersal prevails in the southern Hungarian 

 plants, while straggling prevails in the southern pheasant plants. All plants of 

 both species so far made in the southern part of the north central region have 

 either straggled or dispersed. The maps show many plants in which the date last 

 seen (which appears to the right of the "failure" symbol) is one, two, three, or 

 even seven years later than the date of planting (below the "failure" symbol). 

 These ^ae the known instances of straggling. The last remnants of straggling 

 pheasants are commonly males. 



A combination of the two types, consisting of breeding followed by dis- 

 persal, is particularly common in pheasants. In this combination type, the dis- 

 persal usually occurs during the first fall, immediately after the first frost. 



