Vol. 12, No. 11 
Page 2 
It was found that mean concentrations of chromium and magnesium in blood 
were greater, and those of molybdenum, silver, and tin in livers were less, in 
hens from Neoga than in hens from Sibley. All of these differences were 
statistically significant (£<0.05). Of these five elements, only molybdenum 
appears to be potentially important in limiting the abundance of pheasants at 
Neoga. However, in view of the fact that the mean concentration of molybdenum 
in livers of the Neoga hens was 0.65+0.03 ppm (compared with 1.20+0.24 ppm for 
Sibley hens), it is doubtful that these birds were suffering from a shortage of 
this trace element. Thus, it is tentatively concluded that hen pheasants at 
Neoga probably do not suffer from gross imbalances of chemical elements during 
the summer months. 
4. Resp onses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipulation J. A . Ellis, 
P. J. Matthews 
Prehunt censuses of quail were conducted on the Forbes and Dale areas in 
late October and early November, 1969. Results of these censuses revealed that 
the fall population on Forbes (26 quail per 100 acres) was the highest ever 
recorded on the area and exceeded the previous population high (prehunt 1968 ) by 
15 percent. 
Quail density in the experimental management zone on Forbes was 65 birds per 
100 acres, a decrease of 32 percent from 1968. A 250-acre zone on Forbes, 
managed by the food-patch method by the Division of Game from 1963 through 1967, 
was incorporated into a sharecropping program in 1968. Quail density on this 
zone increased from 14 birds per 100 acres in 1 968 to 71 birds per ICO acres in 
1969. 
A population density of 37 birds per 100 acres was recorded this fall on 
the Dale Area, a decline of 16 percent from 1968. The population in the zone 
managed solely by burning declined 36 percent from 1 968 . The population on the 
remainder of the Dale Area was 5 percent lower than in 1 968 . 
5* Res ponses of Prairie Chickens to Habitat Manipulation R. L. Westemeier 
In I 968 a new booming ground became established on the 140-acre McCormick 
Sanctuary (former Zimmerman tract) at Bogota and presented the only instance up 
to that time where nesting cover completely encircled a booming ground (MWRL 
11(12) :3). Seven nests were subsequently found in a radial pattern encircling 
the ground at a mean distance of 246+14 (SE) yards. This was the first evidence 
suggesting the existence of a preferred zone for nesting relative to a bcoming 
ground. 
In I 969 two widely separated sites (6 acres and 5 acres in size, each 
surrounded by nesting cover) were burned on February 26 on the McCormick Sanctuary. 
Two or three cocks were subsequently seen booming on each site and once again 
seven nests were found on this sanctuary. Distances for four nests relative to 
one booming ground averaged 183+35 yards and distances for three nests relative 
to the other ground averaged 220+12 yards. Also in 1 969 > a booming ground became 
established on a 5~acre plowed strip that extended across the center of the 77“ 
acre Yeatter Sanctuary. Except for a 56 -yard opening at one end of the plowed 
strip, the Yeatter booming ground was also surrounded by nesting cover. The six 
