Vol. 7, No. 3 
Page 3 
9 
Table 2. Prairie chicken broods reported from the Bogota Study Area by local 
cooperators• 
Period of 
Sighting 
Number of 
Broods 
Average Number 
of Chicks per 
Brood 
Estimated Average 
Age of Young in 
Weeks 
June 
9 
8.8 
3-4 
July 
3 
8.0 
7-3 
August and 
October 
2“ 
6.5“ 
7-5“ 
June through 
October 
14 
8.3 
4.8 
* Includes one brood with estimated hatching date in August. 
During January and February, censuses of quail were conducted on three study 
areas, located respectively in Marion, Wayne, and Jasper counties, to obtain 
estimates of the posthunt populations. Eighteen coveys (202 quail) were found on 
the Marion County Wildlife Area and nine coveys (88 quail) on the Wayne County 
Wildlife Area; nine coveys (57 quail) were observed at Bogota in Jasper County. 
The posthunt populations were compared with the prehunt populations to determine 
the percentage of loss. The quail population at Bogota declined 81 percent from 
the prehunt to the posthunt period; populations on the Wayne County and Marion 
County wildlife areas declined 69 and 42 percent, respectively. 
The posthunt populations of 57 quail, observed at Bogota in 1964, was 49 per¬ 
cent smaller than the population of 111 quail observed there in 1963: weather 
conditions during the fall months were believed to be partly responsible for this 
decline in population. Frequent rains during the fall of 1962 delayed the harvest¬ 
ing of crops; as a result, standing crops provided cover for quail during the hunt¬ 
ing season. In addition, the late harvest that year kept many local farmers at 
work, thus curtailing their opportunities to hunt quail. In contrast, dry weather 
prevailed in 1963, and most crops on the area were harvested prior to the opening 
of the quai1 season. 
5- Rabbit Management W. R. Edwards, D. A. Casteel 
Observations of breeding behavior and autopsy of rabbits found dead along 
Illinois highways and of experimental animals revealed that a peak of cottontail 
breeding occurred during the first week of March. As a result, virtually all doe 
cottontails are now pregnant and will give birth to litters during the latter days 
of March and early April. 
There are two ecological implications of this apparent synchrony of breeding 
and the expected peak of littering about April 1, 1964. First, farmers, sports¬ 
men, and nature lovers should be alerted to the fact that burning of crop fields, 
ditch banks, and other grassy and weedy areas after March 28 will cause the deaths 
of thousands of nestling cottontails in Illinois this year; second, the relative 
survival of cottontails from the early litters will be a determining factor in the 
abundance of rabbits this fall. 
