Vol. 7, No. 2 
Page 2 
3. Factors Inf1uencing Distribution and Abundance of Pheasa nts 
W. L. Anderson, S. L. Wunderle 
The adult pheasant population on the Neoga Study Area declined steadily 
throughout I 963 . The prehunt population of 19&2 was composed of 591 pheasants; 
25.0 percent (53 cocks and 95 hens) were estimated to have survived to May 1 96 3• 
During March 1 963 , 208 game-farm Korean pheasants (81 cocks and 127 hens), 
64 game-farm Japanese green pheasants (40 cocks and 24 hens), and 88 wi1d-111inois 
hens from southeastern Champaign County were released on the area. It was esti¬ 
mated that the 1963 breeding population was composed of 320 pheasants (94 cocks 
and 226 hens): 150 native, 45 wi1d-1 11inois, 112 Korean, and 13 Japanese green 
pheasants. Most of the Korean and Japanese green pheasants disappeared during 
the summer. 
It was estimated that 585 pheasant chicks were produced on the area; 26 per¬ 
cent (153 chicks) were estimated to have survived until October. The 19&3 pre- 
hunt population of pheasants was estimated to be 200 birds (93 cocks and 107 hens), 
a 37-5 percent decrease in total number of birds in the population from spring to 
fall. Hunters killed at least 40 cocks and 2 hens during the 33^-day, I 963 hunt¬ 
ing season, leaving a maximum of 53 cocks and 105 hens on the area by the end of 
December, the smallest estimated number of birds in 4 years. 
4. Responses of Bobwhites and Prairie Chickens to Habitat Manipu1 at ion 
J. A. Ellis, R. J. Ellis, R. L. Westemeier 
On February 1, Ronald L. Westemeier joined the staff of the Section of 
Wildlife Research as research biologist. Mr. Westemeier received his Bachelor 
of Science degree in biological sciences from Wisconsin State College, 
Platteville, Wisconsin, in i 960 . He expects to receive his Master of Science 
degree in game management from the University of Wisconsin in June of this year. 
His Master's thesis was concerned with land-use studies of the central Wisconsin 
prairie chicken range. This study was under the direction of Dr. F. N. 
Hamerstrom, Jr., and Professor R. A. McCabe. 
The prehunt populations of quail on the Wayne County and Marion County 
wildlife areas in 1 96 3 were estimated to be 716 + 418 and 360 + 134 quail, 
respectively. These estimates were based on recovery, from hunters, of quail 
marked on each area during the prehunt period, i.e. the Peterson-Lincoln Index 
(see Monthly Wildlife Research Letter, November 1 96 3). Twenty-five of the 53 
birds (47 percent) tagged on the Marion County area were killed by hunters, 
whereas hunters shot only 11 of the 45 (24 percent) quail tagged on the Wayne 
County area. Thus, the tagged quail on the Marion County area were possibly 
more vulnerable to hunting than those on the Wayne County area. Most of the 
quail trapped (by night1ighting) and marked on the Marion County area were 
caught in open fields on the south side of the area. This part of the area was 
heavily hunted during the season, and a majority of the birds harvested there 
were shot along the southern boundary. The distribution of marked birds on the 
Wayne County area was more nearly uniform, and the kill of marked birds was 
probably more in proportion to their numbers in the population. 
