MONT A NA STATE FISH AND GAME COMMESSION 45 



BIRD HUNTING IN MONTANA ENTER- 

 ING NEW ERA 



By J. F. HENDRICKS 



Game Farm Superintekident 



ORE each year, the hunting of Chinese pheasants and Hungarian 

 partridges becomes popular. Thousands of hunters take advan- 

 tage of the open seasons to swing their shotguns to their 

 shoulders and go out in quest of the brilliant game birds, noted 

 as much for their wariness and cunning as for their table 

 deliciousness. 



It is almost unbelievable that but six years ago the hunting of Chinks 

 and Hungarians was negligible. Even ardent conservationists had little idea 

 that the sport would reach a glorious height in such a brief time. Today, it 

 is the leading sport of the field. 



The young as well as the old enjoy the sport, walking through the bottom 

 lands, some fortunately with dogs, waiting for the thrilling explosion of color 

 that is the cock Chinese pheasant, or the swift, dazzling take-off of its little 

 neighbor of the field, the Hungarian partridge. 



More than 60,000 birds have been liberated in Montara counties since the 

 game farm at Warm Springs was established. The farm was created by the 

 Montana Fish and Game Commission in 1929 and construction commenced in 

 October of that year. As unbelievable as it may sound, the first crop of 

 birds was liberated in June of 1930, only nine months after the first pens 

 were built. 



Montana's bird life, depleted by seasons without supervision and years 

 without restocking, started to hit the "come-back trail," and at the same time 

 to have added to it new species for the sportsmen and new romance to the 

 fields and brush. 



The initial crop consisted of 6,442 Chinese pheasants. All of those birds 

 were set free from June to late in the fall of 1930. The brood stock consisted 

 of 250 birds, brought to Montana from private dealers in the state of Wash- 

 ington. From this inconspicuous beginning, Montana's outstanding field sport, 

 the delight of virtually every sportsmen in the state, took on major league 

 proportions. 



Since the first liberation, the output steadily has increased as the farm 

 developed. The industry went from the bush league into the minors and then 

 the majors. The brood stock has increased from 250 birds to 475. The last 

 birds, liberated in 1936, totaled 10,572 preasants and 182 Valley quail. 



To gain an accurate picture of the remarkable development of this type 

 of bird life it is necessary to follow the distributions made each year. The 

 1931 output was 8,792 pheasants, released in the various counties of the state. 

 The next year's figure was smaller, amounting to 4,900. For the reason of 

 the decrease from the previous year was the unusual activity at the site of 

 the pens, including the construction of the new highway. The birds continu- 

 ously were distrubed. 



The following year, however, the output jumped to 10,162, as propagation 

 and distribution entered into the home stretch. In 1934, the distribution 



