6 



DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 59, U. S. DEPT. OP AGRICULTURE. 



BREEDING HABITS. 



Courting antics. 



Relations of the sexes in general ; 

 polygamy (manner of acquisition of 

 harem by male, mode of protection 

 of harem, bachelor males) ; polyan- 

 dry ; promiscuity ; monogamy. 



Dates of heat and copulation ; asso- 

 ciated habits. 



Length of period of gestation. 



Date of birth of young. 



Number of young. 



Family life ; relation of father to fam- 

 ily ; care of young — feeding ; mode 

 of carrying; how long cared for by 

 parents; precocious or backward; 

 length of time in nest ; behavior. 



Behavior of adults in postbreeding 

 season ; in winter. 



Hybridization between related species. 



NESTS, SHELTERS, AND OTHER PLACES OF RESORT. 



Natural resorts at different seasons. 



Shelter chambers in general. 



Lairs ; dens ; forms ; beds. 



Nests — plan, elevation, accurate meas- 

 urements; storage chambers; breed- 

 ing chambers ; chambers for deposit 

 of excrement or for other purposes. 



Nests for different purposes; unoccu- 

 pied nests. 



Approaches to nests — trails, burrows, 

 tunnels, or runways ; protection of 

 nests through the closing of burrows 

 during the daytime or in other 

 ways. 



Habits associated with nest approach. 



Extent of home range. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Are any mammals strictly crepuscular? 

 Periodic phenomena of any kind in 



mammals, aside from migration and 



hibernation. 

 Habits as affected by the seasons of 



the year. 

 Effect of long days, very dark days, 



full moon, dark of the moon, on 



activity. 

 Use of glands of various sorts, as hip 



glands of meadow mice, metatarsal 



PRESENT AND FORMER STATUS. 



musk glands, anal 



glands of deer, 

 glands. 

 Weights and dimensions of bats; pre- 

 cise hour of appearance in the eve- 

 ning and disappearance in the morn- 

 ing ; numbers and habits as observed 

 in caves ; relative numbers of the 

 sexes ; methods of hanging ; condi- 

 tion of females with reference to 

 pregnancy. 



Present and former numbers of val- 

 uable species, as fur-bearing and 

 game animals, and of pests or those 

 otherwise important ; causes of in- 

 crease or decrease. 



Estimates and counts of numbers of 

 animals per unit of area. 



WILD LIFE AND THE COMMUNITY 



Fluctuations in numbers from year to 

 year, and causes. 



Plagues, due to unusual increase or 

 destructiveness of species ; origin, 

 course, and virulence ; natural 

 checks and methods of control. 



Local names; local ideas concerning 



wild life. 

 Sentiment regarding game laws and 



legislation. 

 Trapping and hunting methods in 



local use; prices received for pelts 



or animals sold. 

 Relation of mammals to the public 



health ; to agriculture. 



Possible undeveloped resources in 

 mammals, as of flesh for food, fur or 

 hides for clothing, or other useful 

 animal products for various pur- 

 poses. 



Possibilities of utilization, through 

 domestication or semkloinestieation, 

 of beneficial species. 



