CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 373 



The banding system has not been in vogue long enough to allow 

 many definite conclusions to be drawn. At the end of the year 1932 

 only 10 bands had been returned. Of the 10 birds, six had been 

 shot and four taken by other means. This small return may be 

 accounted for by the fact that up to and including the 1932 open 

 quail season only a relatively few birds had been released and, 

 further, the sportsmen had not yet become acquainted with our 

 work. It is presumed, however, that the ten bands represent only a 

 fraction of the total number taken. By the close of the 1933 season a 

 total of 59 bands had been recovered, the increase over the previous 

 year being the result of a vast increase in the number of birds released 

 and a considerable extension of the area over which the liberations 

 were made. Again, as in the case of the 1932 returns, it is believed 

 that the number of bands received was far less than the actual number 

 of banded birds killed during the season. 



The reports of 1933 show that of the 59 returns, 10 were made 

 anonymously and 25 separate individuals were responsible for the 

 recovery of the remaining 49. The largest number returned by one 

 individual was nine while two hunters recovered six and five bands 

 respectively. Five men averaged three birds, the same number took 

 two and 13 recovered one band each. The average number of banded 

 birds taken per hunter was slightly less than two, since only 49 were 

 actually killed by shotguns. Ten birds died by other means, one being 

 killed by an owl, another taken from the stomach of a Cooper hawk, 

 and so on. 



In the case of 35 of the birds killed we were able to learn the exact 

 date on which the shooting took place. An average period of 113.6 

 days had elapsed between the date on which each of the above 35 quail 

 was liberated and that on which it was taken. The maximum period of 

 liberty was, in the case of two birds, 480 days and one had been at 

 liberty but 16 days before being killed — this last being the minimum. 

 These data .show conclusively that game farm reared birds are able 

 to survive under natural conditions. 



Of the 59 bands taken, 26 were from Riverside and San Bernardino 

 counties, 20 from the Antelope Valley region of Los Angeles County, 

 and one from San Diego County. It should be explained that the 

 above mentioned areas correspond with the three groups of quail sanc- 

 tuaries that have been established in southern California and, further, 

 that in the case of the San Diego County group but one liberation had 

 been made prior to the 1933 quail season. In addition to the birds 

 from the vicinities of these southern California refuges, two were taken 

 in the northern part of the State, near Morgan Hill, and were products 

 of the State Game Farm at Yountville, which institution is likewise 

 carrying on the banding program. The two birds taken in the north 

 complete the total of 59, which includes representatives from 15 dis- 

 tinct liberations. 



Only 25 of the returns included really accurate information con- 

 cerning the exact point at which the birds were killed. From these 

 data, however, we have been able to calculate the distance of the point 

 of recovery from the point of liberation, the maximum being 10.5 miles 

 and the minimum, one mile. The average distance was 4.86 miles. 



