Climate and Bobwhite Quail in Kansas: 1951-1954

Abstract

For the fourth year sportsmen of Kansas have made possible another report on bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) in Kansas. Each year since 1951, sportsmen in Kansas have been requested to clip one wingtip from each bobwhite that they shoot during the legal open season, and send this wingtip to the State Biological Survey. The response to these requests has grown steadily since 1951, when 1662 wings were received from 37 counties in the State, to 1954, when 4581 wings were received from 58 counties. In all, almost 13 thousand wingtips from the best bobwhite-producing counties of Kansas have been examined. The results of the analysis of each year's wings, together with a comparison of climatic factors affecting the production of bobwhites, have been published each year since 1951 (see Robinson and Baker, 1952, 1953, and 1954). These publications are sent to cooperators, and are available to other interested persons. To obtain information concerning the food habits of bobwhites, we asked cooperators, in 1954, to remove crops or craws from bob-