The number of quail that hatch, and live until the hunting season is determined by several factors. Weather is the most widespread of these factors. (Stoddard, 1936). A study was made in 1950 and 1951 to learn how variations in the weather correspond to variations in the Iowa quail populations

Stempel, M. E.

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University of Northern Iowa

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of ScienceVolume 59 | Annual Issue Article 761952A Late Spring and a Late Quail HatchM. E. StempelIowa State Conservation CommissionCopyright © Copyright 1952 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/piasThis Research is brought to you for free and open access by UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Proceedings of the Iowa Academyof Science by an authorized editor of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@uni.edu.Recommended CitationStempel, M. E. (1952) "A Late Spring and a Late Quail Hatch," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science: Vol. 59: No. 1 , Article 76.Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol59/iss1/76A Late Spring and a Late Quail Hatch By M. E. STEMPEL The number of quail that hatch, and live until the hunting season is determined by several factors. Weather is the most widespread of these factors. (Stoddard, 1936). A study was made in 1950 and 1951 to learn how variations in the weather correspond to variations in the Iowa quail populations. Data for this study was obtained from quail wings collected in southern Iowa during the open quail season. Samples came from the following counties; Appanoose, Davis, Decatur, Jasper, Lucas, Poweshiek, Union, Wapello, Wayne. Wings making up the sample were from the birds taken by average hunters encountered in the field. Conservation Officers, and other department personnel co-operated in collecting wings in envelopes, and recording place. and date of kill. Wings used in the study were first divided into old and young groups. Wings are classified by making an examination of the covert feathers concealing the base of the long outer flight feathers. In young quail covert feathers are tipped with buff. Covert feather tips of the adult quail are of the same uniform grey as the other part of the fe.ather. Wings of young quail may be further identified by the pointed ends of the outer two primary flight feathers. These two feathers are known as the number nine, and number ten primaries. In adult quail these feathers are rounded at the tip. Thus by inspecting the tip of the number nine, and the number ten primary, and by the color of the tips of the. greater primary coverts it is possible to de-termine whether the quail is one that has hatched this year. (Pe-trides and Nestler, 1943). Number of days age of young quail is learned by measuring one or more of the growing primary wing feathers. The primary near-est the body is number one feather. Number ten feather grows from the outer end of the wing. In young quail the replacement of the flight feathers begins at 28 days of age. Beginning with primary number one., the first eight of the primaries are successively moult-ed, and replaced during the first five months of the quail's life. Primaries nine, and ten are not moulted and replaced the first year. In the young bird, the original number nine, and ten feathers are fully grown in 65 days. (Petrides and Nestler, 1943). After five 541 1Stempel: A Late Spring and a Late Quail HatchPublished by UNI ScholarWorks, 1952542 ,,, "' ,,, ~ ... 0 I-z "' (.) a: "' Q. U> .. U> .. (.) ... 0 I-z ... (.) a: .. ... 25 20 ,. 10 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE HATCH DATES OF IOWA QUAIL 1950-1951 1950 - ------1951 JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. 1-15 16-30 1-15 16-31 1-15 16-31 1-15 16-30 I I ·}-~ /i I I I I /~ I I I '\ 'v/ ~ I IOWA QUAIL HATCH DATES EAST OF STATE HIGHWAY 60 WEST OF STATE HIGHWAY 60 JUNE JULY 1-15 16-30 1-15 35 30 25 20 IS 10 AUG. 16-31 1-15 15-31 1-15 DATA FROM WINGS OVER 14 DAYS OF AGE IS NOT IN THE DATA USED. WEST OF HIGHWAY NO. 60, 33% OF YOUNG QUAIL WERE OVER 140 DAYS OLD. EAST OF HIGHWAY NO. 60, '3S 04 OF YOUNG QUAIL WERE OVER 140 DAYS OLD. [Vol. 59 FIGURE NO. I OCT 1-15 16-31 FIGURE NO. 2 SEPT. 16-30 2Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Vol. 59 [1952], No. 1, Art. 76https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol59/iss1/761952] QUAIL HATCH 543 months feather growth is complete, and this plumage is retained until the following summer. Replacement primaries grow at the fairly uniform rate of about 3 mm per day. By measuring a primary feather that is growing, the age of a young quail can be established, and the age indicated will be within 14 days of the true age of the quail. For example: from the sample collected on November 7 a wing is selected. On examination we find the number nine, and ten primaries are pointed. Also, the covert feathers are tipped with light tan color. The wing is thus identified as that of a young quail. Number three primary measures 82mm in length. By referring to our chart of quail fea-ther growth we learn that the bird is 61 days of age, and it was hatched on September 8. 1950 WEATHER AND QUAIL HATCH Spring 1950 was about two weeks later than normal. (Iowa Climatological Data, 1950). However, quail mating activity did be-come apparent early in April. Spring "Bobwhite" calls by male quail is one of the first reliable signs of mating activity. During the first week in April 1950, quail calling became general. April 7 the temperature rose to 69° at both Centerville, and Bloomfield. (Iowa Climatological Data, 1950). The weather bureau regarded the crop growing season as being about two weeks later than normal. June, however, is the critical quail hatching month, and in 1950, the early part of the summer did have many warm, dry days. Pre-<'ipitation was about normal. During the 1950 open season in the fall, 110 quail wings were collected, and a record was made of the place, and the date of col-lection. Of the total, 82 were wings of young quail, 16 were adult, the balance were damaged and could not be processed. Data obtained by measuring growing primary feathers on wing;; of the young birds showed that quail were hatched through June, and until the last of September. The peak of hatch occurred be-tween June 15, and July 15 when 44% of the birds were hatched. (Fig. No. 1) Eight per cent of the hatching took place after this peak period, and between August 1, and August 15. But there was a later gain in the hatch because 12% of the sample consisted of quail that hatched during the last two weeks of August. It may have been the late hatch of 12% of quail that made 1950 a year when quail coveys were comparatively easy to locate in most parts of the quail range. Hatch date of 37% of the quail young could not be determined as this number of birds were over 140 days old, and age of birds of 3Stempel: A Late Spring and a Late Quail HatchPublished by UNI ScholarWorks, 1952544 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE [Vol. 59 this class cannot be determined because feathers have reached maxi-mum growth. 1951 WEATHER AND QLAIL HATCHING Iowa Climatological Data records show that in 1951 the spring was later than in 1950. Late winter breakup delayed mating of quail. Early April did not witness the extensive "Bob-white" calL ing of the male quail. Calling of the male quail was not gene rail y heard, morning and evening until the third week in April when a temperature of 83° was reached at Bloomfield, and a temperature of 82° was reached at Centerville. Sixty three degrees was the highest spring temperature prior to that date. In June, the month when quail hatching usually reaches its peak Bloomfield recorded 8.92 inches of rain, Centerville had only 7 inches of rain. During the following hunting season, in 1951, the cooperators were asked to send in one undamaged wing from each quail collected. If the right wing was damaged only the left wing was sent in. A total of 189 wings were collecte.d, and date, and place of kill was recorded. Forty-three of the wings were from adult birds, 146 were from young quail. The 1951 quail hatching period indicated by the wing samples extended from the first week in June to the second week in October. The peak of the hatching took place over a thirty day period extend-ing from July 15 to August 15. (Fig. No. 1) 44% of the wings were from quail hatched during that period. Only 12% of the juvenile wings collected in 1951 we.re from quail more than 140 days old. This 12% is not represented on the graph. HATCHING WITHIN THE SAMPLE AREA, 1951 Data from counties lying to the east of State Highway number 60 running through Centerville, and Albia, shows a peak of hatching during the last two weeks of August. Counties farther west show a good hatch in the last two weeks of July. It is also indicated that the productive period in the west extended over a longer period of time. This is illustrated in Figure number 2. To the east, quail taken by hunters in 1951, were 80% youni; birds. West of the number 60 road, the count of young ran as high as 90% young and 10% adult birds. The figure of 90% is unusual-ly high. The. average for Iowa over a period of years is 82% young quail in the hunter's bag. ADULT QUAIL TAKEN BY THE HUNTER Thompson and Kabat, in 1950 stated that the hatch period of quail appears to determine the time that the old quail will moult. Moult 4Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Vol. 59 [1952], No. 1, Art. 76https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol59/iss1/761952] QUAIL HATCH 545 in the adult quail follows the activity of the breeding, and the nest· ing season. Adults moult, and regrow all ten of the primary feath· ers. The stage of moult in the old quail should correspond to the stage of moult in the young quail. Late moult, and replacement of feathers should follow the late hatching season. Eleven percent of adult quail taken in December 1950 had not yet replaced the number nine, and ten primary flight feathers. 37% of the young quail killed in the 1950 quail hunting season were more than 140 days old. 37% of the adults taken in December 1951 had not completed regrowth of the number nine, and ten primaries. Twelve percent of the young quail taken in 1951 were more than 140 days of age. In December 1950 a very small percent of adults had immature plummage. A proportionately high percent of young birds had reached the 140 day old class. The early moult in the adult cor-responded to an early hatch during the summer. CONCLUSIONS Spring 1950 was about two weeks later than normal. Tempera-tures in the quail range were cool, but there were many warm, dry days in May and June. 44% of quail hatched over a 30 day period from June 15 to July 15. Spring 1951 was about three weeks later than normal. Rains were frequent and heavy. 44% of the young quail hatched over a 30 day period extending from July 15 to August 15. Spring season 1951 was later than spring 1950. The average young quail in the sample taken in the fall, 1951 was younger than the average young quail taken in the sample in the fall of 1950. Literature Cited Bennett, Rudolph, 1951, Some aspects of Missouri quail and quail hunting, Mo. Cons. Comm., Tech. Bui. 2: 32. Stoddard, H. L. 1936, The bobwhite quail, its habits preservation and in-crease, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 339-347. Moorman, B. 1947, The 1947 quail season, Iowa State Cons. Comm. Des Moines, la. U. S. Dept. Commerce, 1950, 1951, Climatological data, la. LXI: 6, LXII: 6. Thompson, D. R. and Kabat, C. The wing moult of the bobwhite, Wilson Bui. 62, 1: 21-29. Petrides, G. A. and Nestler, R. B. 1943, Age determination in juvenal bob· white quail, The Am. Mid. Nat. 30, 3: 775-777. Stempel, M. E. 1951, Report of fifth biology seminar, State Cons. Comm. 3, 2: 42. STATE CONSERVATION COMMISSION 446 So. ScHYLER OTTUMWA, lowA 5Stempel: A Late Spring and a Late Quail HatchPublished by UNI ScholarWorks, 1952

A Late Spring and a Late Quail Hatch

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A Late Spring and a Late Quail Hatch

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