VoU 20, No, 6 
Page 2 
„ A Preliminary comparison of nesting on roadsides in the SSA and FCMU suggests 
des seeded'i^ d i lT nCe ^ rateS ° f " 6St Succass a " d PredatL orr^d- 
sides seeded in a block versus a scattered fashion. 
Table I. Success of pheasant nestin 9 on 68 roadside plots (43.4 acres) on the 
FCMU, 1973-76. 
1973 
1974 
1975 
1976 
X 
Established nests 
196 
135 
54 
58 
110.8 
Nests, hatched 
Percent successful 
57 
29.1 
54 
40.0 
12 
22.2 
20 
34.5 
35.8 
32.3 
Nests, predation 
Percent predation 
108 
55.1 
46 
34.1 
32 
59.3 
25 
43.1 
52.8 
47.6 
Ecolog y and Management of Squirrels ... 
- - - C. M. Nixon 
Breeding rates have not been well documented for the fox squirrel. A 
[h h °in the llterature revealed the following data: (I) Subadults LclO 
months old) rarely breed; ( 2 ) yearlings (10-14 months old) breed only otce 
during their first breeding year (December-September); ( 3 ) adults ( 15 + months! 
frequently have two litters during a breeding year. U5+ month.) 
on fJ'^V 971 we l ? ave been 1 ivetrapping and examining female fox squirrels 
durlna borhV 635 'V?™ '* or> Illinois. Many females were captured 
during both spring and fall breeding periods. 
year LUarViy’rh. 5 ^ ?!" eas ' f ? maleS havin9 tw0 litters durin 9 a breeding 
year appear to be the exception rather than the rule (Table 2). 
° n 'v !h 71 and 1975 did any a PP re ciable number of females conceive 
" f' both years tree seed crops were at least average, and both years 
oai!?^tr? ar r (I 9 Z° and ,' 974) whe ". tl ? e tree seed crop was ^bove average 3 
the nenera| y fa°li wh ' ta oak ‘ ,n addition, breeding was curtailed in 1974 after 
adul? f ure 0f , he tr f® seed cr °P in 1973. Nearly half ( 8 /17) of the 
adult females examined ,n I 974 did not conceive during the breeding year the 
r :?e"n [974 It™"!? f ° r tHe ,97 '- 76 P6ri0d - Thu5 ’ thT^b^ding 
to produce 7 the hioh n mh! Seed Cr ° P that same year may have combined 
produce the high number of females conceiving twice in I 975 (Table 2). 
