t this time 
Wo recommendations for waterfowl management are believed necessary & . 
except insofar as hunting regulations are concerned. It will be advisable to establish a 
duck season which closes by January 3let, in order to reduce spring shooting. The total 
amount of duck hunting done is small, but it should be restricted to the period October 1 
through January 31, to end before the breeding season begins. 
Quail 
Most of the quail shooting is done in the highlands, not far from the capital. 
Favorite localities for hunting are near Zumpango, Chimaltenango, San Juan Sacatepeques, 
Antigua and vicinity, in areas where there are many grain fields, grassy slopes, and open 
woodland. 
There are & number of enthusiastic and experienced quail hunters in Guatemala 
City, several of whom have bird dogs which they keep for this sport. According to their 
statements, an average day's hunt yields a bag of about five quail per buater. Both the 
bobwhite and the ocellated quail occur in the highlands, but the latter is the more common 
of the two near the capital. 
Reports from hunters, plus eur field observations, indicated that the quail nest 
during the months of April through August. By September they are reported to be in coveys. 
Since our field studies were terminated in May, there was no opportunity to 
follow the nesting success of these birds, nor were we present when the majority of the 
shooting began in September. 
Information obtained from hunters and finca owners indicated that many quail are 
trapped by farmers and other residents on the land. The several traps observed during our 
field work were simple devices, either figure-foure with basket, net, or rock above, or a 
baited snare, but in the aggregate they catch many quail. 
‘Among the proposed hunting regulations recommended by the Fish and Game Committee 
of the Ministry of Agriculture, is one (Article 34) which would prohibit the taking of 
quail and partridges of the Republic by means of traps. This proposal should be made a 
law, 26 illegal trapping is largely responsible for the great reduction in the number of 
quail in many localities, particularly in the more densely settled highlands. 
The proposed law restricting the open season on quail to the period September 1 
through February should aleo be adopted. The killing of many quail during the breeding 
season is largely responsible for their alarming decrease and even extermination in some 
localities. 
Many persons have asked how, other than by regulations, the quail in certain areas 
could be increased. Some have wondered whether it would be advisable to introduce bobwhite 
quail from the United States for purposes of restocking. Under present conditions, it is 
recommended that no species of quaile be introduced from other countries. SBirds of other 
countries would not be satisfactorily adapted to conditions in Guatemala, and, in addition, 
there is always the danger of introducing additional parasites and diseases which would 
cause increased mortality among the native birds. Far more probably can be accomplished 
by the improvement of conditions affecting the number of native species. 
It is entirely feasible for land owners to increase the quail on their property, 
provided some quail are already present and the owners are willing to provide an adequate 
environment for these birds. To do this they need only to follow the basic recommendations 
for quail management such as that outlined by game agencies in the southwestern United 
States of America. <A practical bulletin on this subject is "Upland Game Management, " 
publishedby the Wildlife Management Institute, which can be obtained free by interested 
Guatemalans by writing individually to the Institute at Washington, District of Columbia, 
. S&S. A. 
In some areas where quail have been extirpated and where local interest in their 
reintroduction is sufficiently strong, it will be desirable for field personnel of the 
Department of. Fish and Game to obtain such planting stock by live trapping these birds where 
they are locally more numerous, as, for example, in the southeastern part of the Republic, 
in localities where little quail hunting is done. 
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