Vol. 12, No. 6 
page 2 
Management Unit that were seeded during August and September, 1968. The degree o 
control achieved throughout this area was somewhat less than had been hoped or * . 
Some weeds were eliminated, but control of species such as curled clock £ r ' — 
was not satisfactory. Nevertheless, 4-(2,4-DB) appears to be of some va-.j~ 1a 
control of broadleaf weeds on seeded roadsides provided application is ma e a 
proper time. 
3 . Factors 1nf1uencing Pistribution and Abundance of Pheasants 
W. 1. Anderson, 
0. R. Vance 
Twenty-five hen pheasants were collected in Ford and Livingston counties uring 
May 1969 and were dissected to obtain information on the physical condition and 
reproductive performance of actively laying hens in Illinois' better range. e 
body weights of these birds averaged 1,052 grams, which is slightly less than tne 
mean weight (1,066 grams) of laying hens collected from 1966 through 1969* ea ^ 
weights of selected body parts excised from the hens collected in 1969 , compare 
with those from hens collected during the 3 preceding years, were: sternal muscles, 
97 percent; fat strip, 85 percent; visceral fat, 93 percent; liver, 101 percent; and 
ovary, 104 percent. Because the mean weights of sternal muscles from hens co. e <- ® 
in preceding years were remarkably consistent (242.4, 240.4, and 241.4 grams in 9 > 
1967, and 1968, respectively), the decreased weight of sternal muscles from hens 
collected in l 969 is noteworthy. These findings suggest that hens in the state s 
better pheasant range entered the nesting season in poorer physical condition in 
I 969 than did the "average" hen in the 3 preceding years. 
4. Responses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipu1 at ion J. A. Ellis, P. J* Matthews 
Results of the prebreeding censuses of quail conducted on the Forbes and Dale 
areas during early March 19^9 revealed the highest prebreeding populations ever 
recorded on the areas. On Dale, 13 coveys totaling 140 quail (12.7 per 100 acres; 
were located. The prebreeding population in I 969 on Dale exceeded that o 9 V 
35 percent. Seventeen coveys containing 171 quail (7*3 P er 100 acres) were oca 
on the Forbes Area in March 1969 , an increase over the prebreeding population in 
1968 of 52 percent. 
The size of the prebreeding populations has been statistically correlated 
(P<0.05) with the size of the subsequent prehunt populations. We can predict, 
therefore, that the prehunt quail populations on Dale and Forbes in 1969 w ‘ '' equal 
or possibly exceed the prehunt populations of 1968. 
5 . Responses of Prai r ie Ch i ckens to Hab i tat Man i pu 1 at . ion. 
R. L. Westemeier 
It is imperative that provisions be made for the establishment of booming 
grounds on prairie chicken sanctuaries because courtship grounds are important focal 
points of prairie chicken ecology. Among the better-known requirements for a well- 
established booming ground are (1) good visibility at ground level, and wi e orizons 
(2) short cover, as on soybean stubble, green winter wheat, or bare plowed ground; 
and (3) proximity to nest-brood habitat and perhaps to roosting habitat. 
A requirement not well defined is the size that a field must be to become the 
site of a booming ground. During the past seven springs at Bogota, the fields used 
