Vol. 8, No. 8 
Page 2 
cover preferences. However, this method would be impractical because (1) the 
mileage of roadside planting required to obtain the necessary number of replica¬ 
tions of each species or combinations of species would make it difficult to manage 
these areas and existing seedings with respect to weed control and mowing; (2) 
statistical problems would arise because the distribution of treated roadsides 
would involve a large area, where the availability of nesting hens would be 
variable; and (3) the various cropping patterns adjacent to the seedings could 
affect nesting densities on roadsides. 
In May 1965, arrangements were completed for the Natural History Survey to 
lease for 5 years a 24-acre field in southern Livingston County, 5 miles east and 
3 miles north of Sibley, for the purpose of evaluating pf ;asant nesting-cover 
preferences. In early August the field was plowed and disked, and fertilizer was 
applied on the basis of soil samples taken from various locations throughout the 
field. Four different seedings were made on August 17, 18, and 20; (1) brome only; 
(2) brome-alfa 1 fa; (3) brome-alfalfa-red clover-timothy-orchard grass; and (4) 
alfalfa-red clover. For statistical evaluation of pheasant nesting-cover pref¬ 
erences, the field was divided into 40 plots of approximately 0.6 acre each; 20 
plots are located on each side of the long axis of the field, with five replications 
of each treatment randomly located on each side of the axis. A 10-foot strip 
between the plots will be kept mowed during the summer months. The plan is to 
search the entire field for pheasant nests two times each summer, beginning in I 966 . 
Although data on nesting-cover preferences obtained from the field may not be 
wholly applicable to roadsides, it is nevertheless expected that significant 
information pertaining to future roadside management will be obtained. 
3- F actors Influencing Distribut ion end Abundance of Pheasants W. L. Anderson 
As in past years (1960-64), pheasant broods were located during the summer 
of 1965 on the experimental release area at Neoga by observations and by inter¬ 
views with farmers. Twenty-two individual pheasant broods were located in 1965, 
as compared with 82, 69 , 70, $5, and 14 located, respectively, in I 960 , 196 1 , 
1962, 1963, and 1964. Thus, pheasant brood production at Neoga increased 57 per¬ 
cent from 1964 to 1965. However, brood production in I 965 was still far less than 
during the first 4 years of the study, and pheasants on the area are presently at 
a precariously low level of abundance. 
4. R esponses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipulation 
J. A. Ellis, R. L. Westemeier 
Weights were recorded from I 9 I cock quail captured 309 times on the Dale, 
Forbes, and Alma areas from May I 3 to July 9, 1965 (Table 1). In 1964, 303 weights 
were recorded from 203 cocks captured during a comparable period. The quail were 
captured in cock-and-hen traps in both 1964 and 1965- 
Mean weights of cocks on the Dale and Forbes areas were similar for the 2 
years (Table 1). On Alma, however, the mean weight of cocks in 1964, 168.0 grams, 
was significantly higher (P< 0 . 05 ) than the mean weight of cocks in 1965, 163-2 grams. 
