Vo 1. 16, No. 2 
Page 2 
Responses of Bobwhites to Habita t Hanipul at ion J. A. Ellis 
The hunting season for quail was extended 31 days during 1972, an increase 
of 67 percent compared with the season of 1971- Harvest data collected on the 
Forbes and Dale areas revealed higher kills on both areas in 1972 than in 1971* 
On Forbes, 13 quail per 100 acres were harvested during the 1972-73 season, an 
increase of 38 percent over the harvest of 1971 and 4 percent greater than the 
long-term mean harvest for the area. Hunting effort (gun-hours) on Forbes during 
the 1972-73 season was 58 percent greater than the long-term mean for the area. 
On Dale, 23-3 quail per 100 acres were harvested in the 1972-73 season, an 
increase of 41 percent over the harvest of 1971 and 4 percent greater than the 
long-term mean harvest for the area. The hunting effort on Dale in 1972-73 was 
30 percent greater than the long-term mean for the area. 
The 31 days added to the hunting season of 1972-73 represented 40 percent 
of the total hunting opportunity. During this period, 17 percent of the hunting 
effort was expended and 10 percent of the harvest was recorded for the Forbes 
Area. At Dale, 8 percent of the hunting effort and 9 percent of the kill occurred 
during the extended portion of the season. 
Responses of Prairie Chickens to Habitat Manipulation R. L. Uestemeier, 
% D. R. Vance 
Over the past 10 years (I 963 - 72 ), intensive nest-searching on foot on 
sanctuary grasslands has been our primary means of gaining an understanding of 
the nesting ecology of prairie chickens. We now have detailed information on 
312 prairie chicken nests found in the 4,117 acres searched. Twenty-six 
additional prairie chicken nests were found, mostly by cooperating local farmers, 
and were examined by project personnel. Also, by including reliable reports of 
nests, most of which were destroyed by plowing, data have been accumulated on 
more than 400 prairie chicken nests. To our knowledge, no other state in the 
range of the greater prairie chicken has a body of information of this magnitude. 
As a by-product of the nest study on prairie chickens, we have also located 
and recorded detailed information on 3^244 nests of other birds, including: 227, 
bobwhite quail (C o 1inus virqinianus ); 21, ring-necked pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ) 
174, mourning dove ( Zenaidura macroura ) ; 28, upland plover ( Bartramia lonqicauda) ; 
14, short-billed marsh wren ( Cistothorus platensis ); 2,134, red-winged blackbird 
(Aqelaius p hoe niceus); 653, eastern meadowlark (Sturnel1 a magna ); 393> dickcisse! 
( Spiza americana ); 112, field sparrow ( Spize11 a pusi11 a ) ; 47, grasshopper sparrow 
(Ammodramus savanna run ); 2, Hens low's sparrow ( Passerherbulus henslowii ); 3> song 
sparrow ( Melospiza melodia ); 16, goldfinch ( Spinus tristis ); 1, mockingbird (Mimus 
polyglottos ); 2, catbird (D umetella caro1inensis ); 1, brown thrasher ( Toxostoma 
rufum ); 3 > cardinal (Richmondena cardinal is ); 2, indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea ); 
and 2 instances of nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds (Mo 1othrus ater ). 
We have also recorded 175 rabbit (S ylvilagus floridanus ) nests. Further evaluation 
^ of these data may provide valuable insight into the nesting habits of several 
grassland and game species and demonstrate the value of carefully husbanded grass¬ 
land habitat now uncommon in Illinois. 
