Je Deo Ta ae TIER V LE 
LIBRARY | 
FEB 14 1939 
United States Department of Agriculture 
Bureau of Biological Survey 
Wildlife Research and Management Leaflet BS-124 
Washington, D. C, * January 1939 
FACTORS IN NESTING LOSSES OF THE CALIFORNIA vaLtay quart! 
By E. E. Horn, Biologist, Section of Wildlife Surveys 
Division of Wildlife Research 
Contents 
Page | Page 
Introduction. ........ 1} Ground squirrels as predators. . 4 
ES a enna nae 2) ee Meet MRBtTUCtLON., « » s 4 
Factors causing depletion . . 2 | Quail food consumption. 5 
Hunting pressure. ches 2 | Effect of rodent control. 5 
Population fluctuations .. 3 | BUMMATY. . «8 oe 6 
Food supply fluctuations. . 4 | Literature cited. 7 
Sh | 
Natural enemies . a 
INTRODUCTION 
To develop sound management practices for increasing the popula- 
tion of California valley quail, a cooperative study has been underteken 
in California by the Forest Service, the College of Agriculture of the 
University of California, and the Bureau of Biological. Survey. The west 
side of the Sierra foothills, which is representative of a large propor- 
tion of the State, was selected as the ecological type for this study. 
Prior to the beginning of the project some preliminary observa- 
tions on the area indicated that food, water, and cover were adequate to 
support a greater population of quail than existed there. Protection 
from hunting for 2 years had failed to bring about a marked increase. 
Lack of noticeable fluctuation in numbers indicated that the population 
of adult birds was below the saturation point. As the State became set- 
tled, agricultural practices had detrimental effects on the birds. In- 
creased hunting and the progressive drought that ended in 1934 brought 
even greater concern for the perpetuation of the species. 
1 Revised from a paper presented at the technical sessions of the 
Third North American Wildlife Conference, held in Baltimore, Md., in 1938. 
