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REPORT OP THE PISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



Time will show wliether or not the efforts of the commission respect- 

 ing tlio pknting of pheasants has been worth while. That they are 

 firmly established in some localities appears certain. In the Santa 

 Clara Valley, for instance, it is not an uncommon sight to see two or 

 three pheasants foraging in the fields along well-traveled roads. On 

 April 4, 1916, Deputy I. L. Koppel and myself put up a total of 

 15 pheasants at different points between Coyote and jMilpitas. 

 Although parts of the Santa Clara Valley seem to meet the require- 

 ments of the birds, certain factors will probably prevent them from 

 ever becoming overabundant. Being very partial to moist ground, 

 pheasants choose alfalfa fields in which to ne.st. As nesting occurs at 



Fig. 72. Fulvous tree-ducks on pond at State Game Farm. Photograph by Theodore Kytka. 



a time when the hay is being harvested, a great many nests are 

 destroyed. Through the efforts of Deputy Koppel, the Game Farm 

 obtained a number of eggs from destroyed nests. Thirteen eggs taken 

 from a nest of seventeen on April 22, 1914, hatched on the 24th. 

 Eleven birds were reared to maturity, although these eggs were five 

 hours on the trip. During the season of 1916 a total of seventy eggs 

 taken from nests destroyed while mowing hay were received at the 

 Game Farm. This justifies the adoption of some feasible plan whereby 

 more of the eggs from destroyed nests could be utilized. 



Quail. 

 Quail are brooded and fed exactly the same as the pheasants, but 

 there is no resort to bantams for incubating the eggs. AYhile we have 

 had very poor success in artificially incubating the pheasant eggs for 

 the entire period, the result is quite the contrary with quail, 90 per cent 

 of the fertile eggs often being hatched. As the quail chicks are very 

 tiny, it is a problem to obtain a brooder that will afford them sufficient 

 heat, especially during the night. All brooders are planned and made 

 to meet the requirements of young chickens. As the quail are many 

 times smaller, it follows that they are much farther away from the 



