14 



THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



HUNTED DOWN BY THE CAMERA 

 Photo by T. C. Musselman 



The past summer I spent a month in southwestern Iowa, 

 where I have been going for a number of years. Quails have 

 never been numerous there due to constant shooting, but re- 

 cently the state has forbidden the shooting of Quail. Ever 



since this law went into effect 

 Quails have increased until 

 they are very abundant 

 throughout this whole district. 

 Within a half mile of the cot- 

 tage in which I resided I 

 found three nests, and no 

 doubt there were many more 

 of which I did not know. 

 Twenty feet from one of the 

 nests was a brood of half- 

 grown Quail which had been 

 reared earlier by the mother 

 who was now caring for a 

 complement o f seventeen 

 eggs. Everywhere the clear 

 call of the Bobwhite could be 

 heard, and I feel sure that the tremendous increase in numbers 



can be due to nothing else than the protection which that state 

 has placed on the Quails. 



Last fall two hunters asked me to accompany them into 

 Missouri on a Quail hunting trip. As they possessed a very 

 wonderful dog I accompanied them, for I enjoy watching the 

 hunting of a good, keen-scented pointer. My weapon was a 

 high-powered camera, and the picture which is enclosed shows 

 that I was successful as the hunters with whom I traveled. I 

 found the birds much more abundant in Missouri than in Illi- 

 nois. I attribute this not so much to protective laws as I do to 

 the fact that cover is more abundant. The country is cut with 

 creeks and ditches which are filled with a heavy growth of brier, 

 hazel, brush, and weeds, while the hills are covered with green 

 fields of corn. The combination makes an ideal situation for 

 Quail. 



From the standpoint of Adams County I believe that, due 

 to several mild winters and also to dry nesting seasons, the 

 Quail population has increased during the last three years. 

 Furthermore, a large number of farmers are now refusing to 

 allow hunting on their farms, and this helps a great deal. 



T. E. Musselman. 



