<7 
MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
T. G. Scott, Editor 
Urbana, Illinois 
May, 1961 
Vol. h. No. 5 
W-30-R-lU 
R. F. Labisky, S. H. Mann, C. B. Mack 
It is generally an accepted fact that the cock pheasant selects the territo¬ 
ry site or location and that the majority of the harem of hens is acquired after 
establishment of the territory. However, a limited amount of evidence obtained 
from the study of marked pheasants on the Sibley area during the past 9 years 
suggests that the role of the cock in territory selection may have been over¬ 
emphasized. Our data indicate that many adult hens (that is, hens that have 
experienced one or more breeding seasons) establish and utilize a specific area 
of land early in the breeding season, prior to any constant association with a 
cock. Eventually a cock will join this group of hens and will establish the 
territory within or near the area previously utilized by the hens. Young hens 
(that is, hens about to enter their first breeding season) often become members 
of the preterritory unit of hens prior to the appearance of the cock, and addi¬ 
tional hens, both young and adult, may join the harem after the cock has arrived 
and established the territory. Thus, a particular hen may be associated with the 
same territory (many times regardless of changes in habitat) for as many breed¬ 
ing seasons as she survives. Several marked hens on the Sibley area have been 
associated with the same territory area for at least three breeding seasons. 
Many young hens, associated with a particular territory during their first 
breeding season, have also been observed to return to the same territory in sub¬ 
sequent years. 
W-l|2-R-10 R. D. Lord, Jr,, D. A. Casteel 
At the end of April, three male and three female rabbits which had been 
kept in individual cages were released in the rabbit-proofed enclosure. These 
rabbits immediately bred. Thirty days later all three deposited litters in 
separate nests. Advantage was taken of this opportunity to set up recording 
switches at each nest to record time and duration of nest attendance by the 
females. These switches are now in operation. 
JUN 8 1961 
nmukal 
history survey 
library 
