4. Responses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipulation 
Vo 1. 9, No. 10 
Page 4 
J. A. Ellis 
Data presented in a previous report (Monthly Wildlife Research Letter, August, 
1966) indicated that adult cock quail on the Forbes and Dale areas had higher 
survival rates during the winter of 1965-66 than in the preceding winter. 
The mean weight of adult cocks captured on Forbes during the summer trapping 
program (mid-May through the first week of July) in 1 966 was slightly higher than 
the mean weight of adult cocks taken during the same period in 1965 (Table 4), but 
the difference was not statistically significant. On Dale, however, the mean 
weight of adult cocks in 1966 was significantly lower than that of adult cocks in 
1965- The mean weights of subadult cocks from both Forbes and Dale were heavier 
in 1966 than in 1965* This difference in the means was statistica11y significant 
for subadult cocks from Forbes but not significant for those from Dale. 
If quail weights can be considered a reflection of habitat conditions, then 
Forbes appears to have better quail habitat than Dale. Generally, the mean weights 
of birds captured on Forbes have been heavier than mean weights of those captured 
on Dale. 
Table 4. Mean weights, in grams, of cock quail captured on the Forbes and Dale 
areas from mid-May through the first week of July in 1965 and 1966 . 
Adults 
Subadults 
1965 
1966 
1965 
1966 
Forbes 
Sample Size 
21 
12 
132 
114 
Mean Weight 
169.8+2.4 
173.0+4.4 
164.2+0.3 
169.4+1.8 
Dale 
Sample Size 
9 
12 
107 
78 
Mean Weight 
172.513-9 
161 . 7 + 2.1 
162 . 7 + 1.2 
164.0+1 .1 
5* Responses of Prairie Chickens to Habitat Manipu1 ation R. L. Westemeier 
Twenty-four observations of prairie chicken broods, believed to represent at 
least 16 individual broods, were made on the Bogota Study Area during the summer 
of 1966, 13 by project personnel and II by cooperating local residents. The 
individuality of broods was determined by age variations between broods and bv the 
distances between observations. 
Sixteen hatching dates were established from age estimates for 15 broods and 
from one clutch of eggs hatched in an incubator. The dates of hatching extended 
from mid-May to June 28, with June 7 as the estimated mean date of hatching. No 
accurate hatching dates were available for 1965 , but in 1966 the mean date of 
hatching was 16 days later than in 1964 and 6 days later than in 1963* 
Reliable estimates of both the numbers of young and their ages were obtained 
for 13 of the 16 broods observed in 1 966 . With an average clutch size of 10.6 
