Pheasants and Hungarians 119 



Mr. Johnson thinks the optimum sex ratio is 4:1 or 5:1. Previous to the 

 partial legalization of hens in 1926 he thinks the prevailing sex ratio was 7:1 

 in South Dakota, instead of 3:1 as at present. If both these opinions are correct, 

 they mean that (1) restricting the legal bag to cocks resulted in a surplus of 

 hens; (2) a partial opening on hens, they being less wary and more easily taken, 

 left an excess of cocks. While these conclusions arise from an assumed premise 

 based on opinion (the desired 4:1 or 5:1 ratio) the opinion is that of a com- 

 petent administrator on America's best present pheasant range. The conclusions 

 sound logical for a species so highly polygamous. In deer, likewise polygamous, 

 a ratio of around 5 : 1 has long been advocated by many authorities. 



Nothing is known about the sex ratio of wild Hungarians in this region, and 

 little elsewhere. No criteria for distinguishing the sex of living birds seem as 

 yet to be agreed upon as being dependable. Maxwell says that game-keepers in 

 England deliberately kill off the "old birds" (over 2 years) in spring so as to 

 leave a breeding population of one bird per 2 to 5 acres. This implies ability to 

 distinguish age (but not necessarily sex) in the field. 



Release-Kill Ratio. On any range where natural increase is augmented 

 by annual releases of pen-raised pheasants, it is important to know the ratio be- 

 tween birds released and birds killed. On the Connecticut Public Shooting 

 Grounds, for instance, 7,500 birds were released and 20,000 cocks killed in 1929, 

 a ratio of 1:3. This ratio, if sustained through a period of years, indicates that 

 at least two-thirds of the kill represents wild productivity. In Pennsylvania the 

 present release kill ratio is 1:23, indicating that practically all of the kill is wild 

 stock. 



No ratios are known for the north central States. In Minnesota the 1926 

 kill is given as 40,023 cocks, and in 1928 as 161,881 cocks, but the releases for 

 the period of 192527 are not of record, and there was no release (except eggs) 

 in 1928, hence ratios cannot be derived. 



It is obviously desirable for all the States having open pheasant seasons to 

 require a report of the kill from each licensee. Without this the effectiveness of 

 their activities is not determinable. 



Species Ratios. The information obtained on comparative abundance of 

 pheasants, Hungarians, quail, and prairie chickens is all contained in Table F of 

 the Appendix. 



It seems clear from these abundance ratios, and from impressions gathered 

 during the survey, that: 



(1) The best Hungarian range is never the best pheasant range. The up- 

 lands of northwestern Ohio, for instance, have very few pheasants, while Hun- 

 garians have maintained fairly good density even under annual hunting. 



(2) The best pheasant range is never the best Hungarian range. In south- 

 east Wisconsin, for instance, this fact is so clear that the sportsmen assert the 

 pheasants run the Hungarians out. 



