Vol . 9, No. 1 
Page 4 
Shanghai) and western Europe (probably from England). The birds from China were 
pure Chinese ring-necked pheasants (P_. c. torquatus ) . Those from Europe were 
"English" blacknecks, previously introduced into Europe from the Middle East and of 
mixed pedigree at the subspecies level. After spending several days at the American 
Museum, New York City, and at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., 
studying representative specimens collected from wild populations in their native 
ranges in Asia, it was concluded that the pheasants within the established pheasant 
range in Illinois are nearly pure P. c. torquatus . Other workers have reported 
that the characteristics of this subspecies dominate throughout the Lake States. 
It seems certain that P. c. torquatus either was released in greater numbers, or it 
survived best and genetically absorbed other introduced varieties. 
As P_. c. torquatus appears to have been the most successful in those portions 
of the Lake States that presently constitute the established pheasant range, it is 
believed that birds from the southern part of the native range of this subspecies 
offer fair possibilities for establishment in southern Illinois. This subspecies 
occurs throughout the greater part of China, from about 37° north latitude south 
to extreme northern Vietnam. It is recommended that pure £. c. torquatus , or some 
closely related subspecies, be obtained from southeastern Asia and be propagated 
for experimental release in southern Illinois at such time as the world political 
situation makes acquisition of wild stock feasible. 
4. Responses of Bobwh i tes to Habitat Man ipu 1 at i on J. A. Ellis, J. A. Eastman 
During the past summer (1965) approximately half of the captured quail were 
marked with back tags, and all captures were marked with leg bands. This marking 
system was used to determine whether back tags affected quail survival. Custodians 
at the check stations on the Dale and Forbes areas were asked to collect all bands 
and back tags from harvested birds. Data indicated that proportionally more banded 
than back-tagged quail were harvested by hunters (Table 3)- Calculated chi-square 
values approached but did not exceed reference chi-square values at the 0.10 level; 
however, we considered the sample sizes too small to yield conclusive results. 
Another possible source of error was that custodians on the Dale Area did not 
routinely examine harvested quail for markers. 
It is always difficult to obtain counts of individual quail when a covey 
flushes. In addition, bobwhite habits make numbers on back tags doubly difficult 
to distinguish. Since back tags have been of little value in determining quail 
movements, we believe that leg bands suffice to mark quail for studies of popu¬ 
lation dynamics and ecology. 
Table 3- Numbers of quail banded, back-tagged and banded, and recovered on the 
Forbes and Dale areas in I 965 . 
Area 
Number Quail Marked 
Number Quail Recovered 
Back-tagged 
Banded Only and Banded 
Banded 
Back-tagged 
Only and Banded 
Chi-square 
Da 1 e 
29 26 
5 
3 
0.30 
Forbes 
35 
10 
3 
2.49 
Tota 1 
Is 72 61 
15 
6 
2.53 
