U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services

Historic document – Content may not reflect current scientific research, policies or practices.

LI'' . Cl ' .·• rI> . · ... . - " . -{>-, .... ~ -· '! ,)"'FOREIGN GAME l.,b ,_ I C, INVESTIGATION ~-

A Federal-·State Cooperative Program

Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife

111r 90018703111m1~1~ (D Barberry Sheep © Black Francolin (])Spotted Tinamou (D Fallow Deer (D Iranian Pheasant ©Crested Tinamou (D Blackbuck © Red Junglefowl 0 Kalij Pheasant A Federal-State CJooperative Program

by Gardiner Bump

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service

BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE Washington, D.C. 20240

Resource Publication No. 49

f'or KRle by the SuPt'rlntendent of Document1, U.S. Government P rinting Olllce, Waablngton, D.C. 20402 ·Price 1G cen t8

1011111190018703 Foreword

First there was the land. Then there was life. Then there was complexity. Under one set of conditions, certain plants a nd animals prospered. When conditions changed these grew more or less abundant. Many disappeared, for this is a law of life. Man, once he became the dominant animal, altered the countryside to suit his needs. The alterations were often extreme. Wildlife reacted accordingly. Under new rnnditions some forms prospered. but many failed. Grouse and turkey disappeared, as forests and prairies became cultivated fields. Bobwhite forsook pastures that were heavily grazed, with no native game bird to take their place. But " the new" attracts ; man as well as Nature abhors a vacuum. Predictably, we have attempted to bring birds, mammals, and plants from far off corners of the world to fill our self-created emptiness. Industrialist Eugene Scheiffiin, loving Shake­ speare, vowed to introduce to the New World all birds mentioned in his plays. Judge 0. N. Denny, Consul-general in Shanghai, enjoyed pheasants afield and on the table. So he sent some to Or<'gon ; they flourished. In only a few years, more than a hundred birds new to America were hopefully liberated. Most introductions failed; few- such as starlings and English sparrow- pros­ pered mightily. Some successes made our life enjoyable, others proved nuisances. What one man praised another condemned, and trial and error were in vogue. After the Second World War, interest in "new" birds and mammals zoomed. Conservation-minded folks (Federal, State, and private) were alarmed. Out of that concern grew the Foreign Game Investigation Program, with responsibility for study­ ing and evaluating new birds and mammals. Were they needed? Might they fill a niche not already well occupied by native species? What would be the reaction of resident wildlife to newcomers? Would they leave agricultural crops alone? If suc­ cessful , would they provide more hunting or fishing? How could hitch-hiking diseases and parasites be discouraged? So ran the questions. So read the terms of reference for the new Program. Two-score years later, we look b ack to slow, careful but substantial progress. Program biologists have been stingy with passports to America for new species; appli­ cants ha\'e been carefully screened. I believe that our responsibility to our native wild­ life, to o ur sportsmen. and other lovers of nature is being ably discharged. After reading this report of foreign game investigations, I think you will believe it, too.

J o HN GorrscHALK, Director Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 'The FOREIGN GAME INVESTIGATION PROGRAM

UST 1 o YEARS after the Declaration of Inde­ carried out by individuals or private organizations, J pendence, George Washington received this usually in a haphazard way. country's first shipment of foreign game birds-a The best example of a successful foreign game gift from the Marquis de Lafayette, consisting of bird introduction into this country is the ring­ several kinds of pheasants and a pair of French nccked pheasant. 0. N. Denny, while serving as red-legged partridges. Attempts to introduce foreign Consul-general at Shanghai, decided to bring Chi­ birds into the United States have been going on nese pheasants directly into Oregon. The first at­ ever since. tempt, in 1880, apparently ended in failure, so the Few foreign game bird or mammal introductions following year about 100 more pairs were released have been successful. In the past, failure has been in the Willamette Valley. Most of Oregon's present the rule rather than the exception. One of the most population of pheasants stems from these 200 birds. important reasons for this has been a lack of knowl­ Other States soon followed Oregon's example. The edge concerning just what type of climate and rink-necked pheasant is now one of the most popu­ conditions a new wildlife immigrant needs. lar game birds in the northern tier of States. Other reasons for these failures include releasing After noting the successful introduction of the foreign species in poor rnndition resulting from Chinese pheasant, many individuals and State con­ their long trip, and introducing too few individuals servation agencies became interested and started over too short a period. Most wild-trapped birds importation and propagation programs of their scatter as soon as they are released. Unless consid­ own. Failure was still the rule, for it was seldom erable numbers arc liberated on a continuing basis, recognized that birds, to be successful, must be the chance of pairs mating and nesting is remote. adaptable to the climate and habitat into which they arc released. Large numbers of game-farm Early Introductions-Success andFailure reared ring-necked pheasants were liberated in many places but became abundant in only 19 House sparrows, introduced in 1850 and blue rock Northern or Western States. pigeons and starlings in 1872 are classic examples More by accident than design, two other new­ of foreign introductions that were mistakes because comers thrived. Hungarian or gray partridges from they became too successful. While all three of these central Europe found conditions to their liking in species are considered nuisance birds, the starling the prairie Provinces of Canada and adjacent has become a serious economic threat. They spread States. Chukar partridges from India, introduced across the country invading croplands as they went, at one time or another into every State, established until now farmers on the west coast worry about themselves successfully only west of the Rockies. starling damage to such multimillion dollar crops The contribution of these three species to recrea­ as grape and holly. tional hunting is substantial. Currently they repre­ Nearly all early introductions of exotic birds were sent about 35 percent of all the nonmigratory, up- bnd game birds har\'ested annually by hunters. barnyard rooster, India's red junglefowl, is one pos­ After World II, interest in exotic game increased sibility for providing additional hunting for south­ so substantially that the International Association of ern sportsmen. Game, Fish, and Conservation Commissioners Although the pu1v iew of the Foreign Game In­ asked the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United vestig11tion Program includes mammals, program States Department of the Interior to accept the biologists have paid relatively little attention to responsibility for coordinating and organizing work foreign big game species since most native mammals of this type. The result was thr Foreign Game have fared much better under the pressures of ad­ Investigation Program. vancing c ivilization than have game birds. Another consideration is that large mammals that graze or browse might well come into direct competition for Why a Foreign Game Investigation food with our natural big game species, not to men­ Program is J\l..eeded tion domestic livestock such as cattle a~d sheep. At least 14 species of European, African, and To find out just why it is desirable to have a Asian big game mammals have already been suc­ program for bringing foreign game species into this cessfully introduced by private initiative, mainly country requires a clos e look at the numbers and in the Southwest. The axis, fallow, and Sitka deer, distribution of the native gam e animals. The land­ the black buck (an Indian antelope), the nilgai (a usc picture in the United States is constantly chang­ Sou th Asian antelope) , the Barbary sheep, and wild ing. So-called "clean fanning," new types of farm boar arc examples of such introductions. machinery, heavy graz ing, and chemical control of Western ranchers arc increasingly interested in weeds and insects bring about changes that often establishing private hunting preserves where ~xotic harm native wildlife. For example, prairie chickens big game may be harvested on a fee basis by inter­ once thrive d over a vast area of the North-Central ested hunters. Experience has already proven, how­ Unit ed States and south through Texas. Now the ever, that as stocks of foreign deer, antelope, and prairie chick en is confined to scattered areas in this sheep increase, domestic livestock must in turn be once great range. Overgrazing native grasslands, curtailed to maintain adequate food supplies. plowing of native sod to plant com and wheat, and The business of introducing new game animals to ove rhunting were all responsible for reducing the a country is hardly a do-it-yourself project. The di stribltion of this fine game bird. obstacles confronting such a program arc many and It's obvious that the welfare of game birds and difficult. How can you be sure that the species mammals thriving under one set of conditions can brought in will not become a pest? Will they adapt b e c ritically jeopardized when such conditions to their new home? What about diseases and para­ chang e. As a result, they may decrease or, in some sites that might be brought in? If they should be­ cases, vanish. When this happens, something is come established, what are the chances of their need ed to fill the gap. In some, but not all situa­ competing with native wildlife? Only intensive re­ tions, foreign game species may be potentially pro­ search and close cooperation between State and ductive candidates. Federal agencies can provide the answers. Certain areas in this country have never been It cannot be emphasized too strongly that no occ upied by more than two or three kinds of game foreign species should be seriously considered for birds, and in some cases, there were none at all. introduction until its characteristics and habits have Much of the arid rimrock country of the West pro­ been thoroughly studied in its native range by vided little, if any, upland game hunting until the biologists trained to make the necessary evaluations. chukar partridge was introduced. Now, large por­ Nor should an exotic be considered unless it is a tions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, potential candidate to fill a niche not already well Colorado, California, and Hawaii provide c hukar occupied by our native species. partridge hunting. There are also stringent Federal and some State In the Southern United States, there are three regulations controlling the importation of exotic resident game bird species: bobwhite quail, turkey, animals. These regulations are to guard against im­ and ruffed grouse. India, which is only a little porting animals that could become injurious to larger, has 70 native species. A living ancestor of the public health or to agriculture, forest, or wildlife 2 resources. Federal regulations prohibit the release trapped by the Federal biologists and carefully into the wild of foreign game birds or mammals by quarantined both before shipment and after arri­ private individuals or organizations, except with val, are then carried out by interested State fish and the prior written permission of the conservation game commissions. The Federal biologists who con­ agency of the State in which the release is to be duct the initial study overseas return regularly to made. Serious outbreaks of hoof and mouth disease, the United States to help in the selection of habitats for example, have been transmitted to domestic potentially suitable for the new species and to cattle by the importation of foreign livestock. answer questions. Post-release studies to determine the success of the introductions and other factors arc usually conducted by State biologists. How the Program W or~s Some States want only enough hand-reared birds from overseas to provide brood stock Birds to be The Foreign Game Investigation Program is a released in the wild are then raised at State pro­ cooperative State-Federal project in which 32 of the pagation units. Thus, in addition to securing wild 45 cooperating States are or have been active parti­ individuals, the Federal biologists may have to pro­ cipants. For the rest, mainly northern States, Pro­ pagate selected species overseas. This type of opera­ gram biologists have not yet located many foreign tion is commonly employed when a foreign species game species that might be adaptable therein. This is difficult to trap or is so highly prized in its native is largely due to the difficulties involved in conduct­ country that permission to catch the number re­ ing the requisite preliminary studies in central and quired for direct release cannot be obtained. northern Asia where the majority of the candidate The modest funds needed to finance the program species potentially adaptable to the northern United are provided jointly by the Federal Government States are to be found. and by cooperating States. It is interesting to note The Program is based on requests for assistance that all of the Federal and much of the State's share from State fish and game commissions. The first does not come out of the general taxpayers pocket step is to determine if and where new species are but from a special tax paid by sportsmen and levied needed. To located such habitats, State wildlife on the purchase of arms, ammunition and similar biologists make an ecological appraisal of their items. About one dollar of every $160 collected from game-deficient habitats. These appraisals are then this fund is used for the foreign game program. analyzed to determine the distribution, extent and The Wildlife Management Institute, a private major characteristics of such habitats. conservation organization, is "banker" for the co­ When the necessary information is in hand, Fed­ operating States. This organization pays the cost eral biologists are assigned to study game species of trapping and getting the birds to the State, which occupying similar habitats and climates in foreign is billed later according to the number of birds countries. From dozens of species considered, one or received. two may be selected on the basis of their habits, re­ Program biologists are also responsible for acting productive capacity, resistance to predation and dis­ as a clearing house for ecological and other infor­ ease, relationship to agriculture, and ability to with­ mation on foreign species and for advising indivi­ stand heavy hunting pressure. The possibility of com­ duals and organizations on game importation petition with native game species is also considered. projects. Those that are planned without adequate State biologists are kept advised of the ecological advance study or appear to be unwise on the basis and other characterists of species under considera­ of the information thus obtained are actively tion through periodic reports. Comprehensive discouraged. Special Scientific Reports on many of the species Requests for information on the Program in gen­ recommended for trial are published by the Bureau eral, on individual species, or with regard to pro­ of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife at the conclusion of posed introductions should be forwarded to the each investigation. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife; those re­ All these reports provide detailed information on ferring to individual State programs, to that State's which State biologists may base the selection of fish and game commission. species for trial. Modest, well-planned introduc­ Unfortunately, requests from private individuals tions of the species selected, using stock wild- or organizations for foreign species, even when 3 these arc rccon1111cnded for trial, cannot be con­ 3. Spanish red-legged partridge. A close relative sidered during the period in which they are being of the chukars, this partridge thrives in the dry­ tested. Those that adapt successfully and prove their farmed agricultural lands of Spain and Portugal. worth thereafter should become available for wide It is more partial to flat or rolling country than are distribution either through State conservation com­ the chukars. Habitats apparently comparable to its m1ss1ons or by purchase from commercial game own are found in our Southwest, particularly where breeders. dry farming of wheat occurs. 4. French red-legged partridge. Native to north­ western Europe and successfully introduced into Species Recommended for Britain, this partridge occupies habitats similar to 'frial I ntrodu.ctions those of the Spanish red-leg, but where precipita­ tion is more abundant. It has been recommended Since the Program was established, 26 species or for trial both east and west of the Mississippi where subspecies of foreign game birds have been recom­ winter snows arc not severe and rainfall averages mended for trial in one part or another of the from 25 to 40 inches annually. United States. Over 150 others have been investi­ 5. Turkish chukar. Very similar in appearance gated briefly and dropped from further considera­ to its close cousin, the Indian chukar, this Old tion because of characteristics that might make World partridge is now well established in the them unsuited to American conditions. The search western United States. In Turkey it thrives in rough, for suitable trial candidates has extended from mountainous terrain with brush and trees. In the Europe through the Middle East to Afghanistan United States, similar habitat conditions are found and India, and was continued in Korea and in mountain areas of the Southwest. Japan. The majority of the species recommended 6. Seesee partridge. This quail-size partridge, arc native to fairly wann climates, and are, there­ sometimes called a "miniature chukar," is found fore, of major interest to southern, southwestern or from the Kindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan Pacific Coast States. Game birds potentially in­ westward through the Middle East countries of teresting to the northern States are found mainly in Israel and Turkey. Its habitat includes the lower China and the U.S.S.R. A month's work in Russia hills, rocky bluffs, breaks, and eroded areas in cold uncovered many interesting possibilities, but had to and hot desert situations. Similar habitat-climatic be discontinued pending improvement in political situations are found in our southwestern States. relations. 7. Gray fra11coli11. Somewhat similar to a Hun­ For those interested in foreign game birds, the garian partridge in size and appearance, this following brief notes on the 26 recommended ground-inhabiting francolin frequents fairly dry to species will prove informative: desert areas of India and Pakistan. Its preferred 1. Capercaillie. This European giant of all true habitat is in or adjacent to cultivated lands where grouse is fairly common in semimature to first­ precipitation is from 6 to 25 inches annually. Dry, growth hardwood, pine and spruce forests from brushy areas with scattered grass and weeds are northern and eastern Europe to eastern Siberia. used as cover for rest and nesting. Similar country Male birds may reach 15 pounds. Conditions simi­ is found in the Southwest, Hawaii and Guam. lar to those in its native range are found in semi­ 8. Black f rancolin. Larger and darker in color mature pine and hardwood forests from Maine than the gray francolin, this bird lives from north­ through the Lake States, and potentially in parts eastern Iran and adjacent Afghanistan east through of the western mountains. Pakistan and India. Herc it thrives where annual 2. Black grouse. This bird, reaching 6 pounds, rainfall is 20 to 150 inches in dense-to-open grassy is common in second-growth hardwoods and coni­ areas and also on cultivated lands, including sugar­ fers throughout much of northern and eastern cane. This bird seems well adapted to the South­ Europe and the U.S.S.R. It is more of an "edge" east, H awaii and Guam, and may also find species than is the capercaillie and occasionally conditions in Pacific Coast States to its liking. moves about the country in sizeable flocks. It has 9. R eeves pheasa 11t. A large, colorful, long­ been suggested for trial in northern forested areas tailed pheasant native to wooded mountainous from Maine to Idaho. areas of central China, this bird has been success- 4 (___ L_CAPEIM:AIWE____,) (,____z_.111.ACK-GllOUIE~)

~-___,) (Lo---.. _..... ~-LlllllD-PMITlllD81___,) (~~~-'·_ru_RK_l~-C-HU_M_R~--'-'--') (-~~-'·-IEEll!~-MllTIU~-~~--)

(~_7. CIM-YFltANCDLl-N -----J) ...... , .. 7 fully accli111a tizcd in northern France. (;a n1e-far111 ~ toc k , long in captivity, has been t.ried unsucccss­ iully in several northern and midwestern States. A fresh stock of wild birds trapped in France has been made ;l\·ail abll' through the Program. I 0. Eastern 1 rania11 black-11 eck cd pheasant. About the size of our n orthern ringnecks, this pheasant comes from the southeastern shores of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran where rainfall is 15 10 30 inches a year. It prefers dry-farmed croplands and adjacent open forest a nd brushlands. I ntro­ duced with little success in the eastern U nited Sta tes, it finds conditions more to its liking in farm­ lands west of the Mississippi. 11. W estern lrania 11 pheasant. Similar in size to the eastern Iranian pheasant, this bird lives in flat or rolling country where open-to-thick brush or woodlands a re intersp ersed with grainfie lds, includ­ ing rice, where annual rainfa ll is 30 to 60 inches. A nati,·e of n orthwestern Iran, adjacent to the Cas­ pian Sea, it has found conditions favorable in farm­ "....,_,.- ~ - . - lands of the southeastern United States. Attempts ...... ·.· ~ to introduce our northern ringneck have consis­ ' - ~~- . tently fa iled in this region. ~~-~· . -- 12. A fghan w hite-winged pheasa11t . T his large, striki ng pheasa nt is nati,·e to n orthern Afghanistan and the a djacent U .S.S.R. in dry-fanned, o r irri­ gated areas. It is also fond of marshes near brushy or weedy patches. This pheasant has been intro­ d uced in an attempt to e xtend our ring-necked pheasant range into the dry, agricultural zones of our Southwest. It a lso holds some promise for south­ ern California. 13. South K orean ring-necked pheasant. T his pheasant is similar in weight and general colora­ tion t o o ur ringneck. In South Korea it is a bundant in cultivated fields in valleys and hilly regions where brush and woods a rc close to agricultural lands. It has been experimentall y released in north- and mid-western States in habitats to which our north­ ern ringncck could not adapt. 14. Japmiese grer11 pheasant. This pheasant lacks a white neck ring a nd is s lightly s maller than our ringncck. In Ja pan it is closely associated with cultivated sections adjacent to brush and open evcr­ ~ ree n hardwood forests, and is most abundant in lowla nds, plains, valleys, rolling hills a nd lower mountain slopes up t o 3,500 feet. Scheduled intro­ d uctions w here similar habitats occur include the Pacific, southcentral. southeastern and south mid­ Atlantic States. 8 15. Rf d ju11gfrfou.f. This wild game bird. tec h­ nically a pheasant, from India and southeastern Asia is the progenitor of our domestic chickens. It thrives in woodland habitats, ranging from dense thickets to open scrub and second growth in rough, hilly or mountainous terrain. Flat lands and wooded swamps are also favorable. It is a great scratcher, feeding largely on seeds of plants, including bush and tree seeds, though grain, where available, is not shunned. Habita t and climatic conditions simi­ lar to those in its native range occur largely in our Southeast. 16. White-crf•sted kalij pheasa11 t. This large, dark-colored pheasant, with a sickle-shaped t ail, is 111ore a mountain and forest bird than is the jungle­ fowl. It is at home in the southern flanks of Hima­ layas from India to Nepal a nd Burma, ranging in altitude from about 1,700 feet, where it overlaps the junglefowl range, to 11 ,000 feet. Introduction into the s outhern Appalachians a nd adjacent up­ lands may hopefully provide a game bird in forested areas unsuited to our native ruffed grouse. Favora­ ble conditions for it might also be found m somr western mountain country. 17. Chinese bamboo partridge. Native to east­ ern China a nd Formosa, this brownish, 111edium­ sized partridge was successfully acclimatized l ong ago in Japan. It prefers brushy, weedy thickets usually adjacent to cultivated land. It is also found in bamboo groves and forests of mixed e\'ergreen hardwoods, deciduous hardwoods, and conifers. Most similar habitat-climatic conditions are found in H awa ii, Oregon and Washington. It is also being experimentally tested in the Southeast. 18. Common fodia 11 sa11dgrouse. Not a grouse at all, but more closely allied to pigeons, this resident of western India and Pakistan inhabits desert fl ats where vegetation and water are often very scarce. Such conditions, though somewhat cooler, are partia lly simulated in our southwestern deserts and in pa rts of Hawaii. This coolness may be one reason why some birds liberated in irrigated areas of south­ ern Nevada were subsequently killed in northern Mexico. 19. Crested tinamou. About the s ize of a h en pheasant, and almost tailless like other tinamous, this South American game bird is native to Argen­ tina. It thrives in desert scrub and grassy, semi­ wooded, flat-to-rolling country where water is scarce or absent and annual rainfall is 5 to 20 inches. It is seldom associated with cultivated a reas. The 9 (~~11_.c_H_INE-SE-BAM~BOO~~-Rm_i_oo_E~-') ( ...-·-- )

( 11.CWIEDTWllOU ) ( ~ .______&-- ~ ~------;; 10 best possibilities for successful introduction are in lands a nd weedy fields, with or without adjacent the desert areas from southwestern Texas to south­ cultivation. It thrives where grass is of short tu ern California. medium height, and docs well even in fairly heavily 20. Canyon tinamou. This is a shy, quail-sized grazed pastures. It cannot endure much snow and tinamou which lives in canyons of the Argentine prefers annual precipitation of 20 to 60 inches. Andes and adjacent uplands. It is predominantly Much similar habitat in the United States is found a brushland inhabitant where the vegetation is open in the Southeast from the Atlantic to eastern Texas. to fairly dense and rainfall is 5 to 30 inches a year. 23. Pale-spotted tinamou. A quail-sized tinamou, In the United States a counterpart of its living areas this bird does well in semiarid grasslands and irri­ would be found largely in the Southwest. gated, cultivated sections of western Argentina. 21. Large brush/and tinamou. Another shy Ar­ Similar conditions are found to some extent in the gentine game bird, this tinamou weighs over 1 Southwest where sufficient grassland cover occurs. pound and has white meat. In habits, it resembles 24. R ed-wi11ged ti11am ou. One of the largest and the eastern ruffed grouse. It is found where brush most highly prized of Argentine game birds, this and trees are open to fairly dense with an under­ tinamou, weighing more than the hen pheasant, story of mostly grass and weeds. Flat, rolling or thrives in tall grass though not of necessity adjacent hilly terrain receiving 8 to 30 inches of rainfall an­ to cultivation, including fallow fi elds and pastures, nually is favored. Similar locations might be found and where rank thistle a nd weeds provide s uitable in the Southwest and southern Pacific regions with co,·er. Terrain and moisture requirements arc the a possibility that it might a lso adapt to southern same as for spotted tinamou ; in fart, the two species woodlands. arc often seen in the same field. Likewise, regions 22. Spotted tinamou. Slightly larger than a bob­ potentially suitable in the States are the same as for white quail, this most abundant and widespread of ~ potted tinamou. Argentine tinamou is predominantly a bird of grass- 25. Blue ti11a m ou. A bobwhite-sized bird, this 11 (.___ 2_3._P-ALE_-&f'OTTED ___ TIN_AMO_u __ __,) ( ~ - - )

(..____ 21_ ._•_LUE--TllWIOU__,,...____ ~) ( A -- - ) 12 tinamou lives in warm, grassy brush and woodlands neck has not fared well. It also shows promise in of north and northeastern Argentina. Similar condi­ several other southeastern or midwestern States. tions exist in the southern United States. Japanese green pheasant. Small populations have 26. Chilean brusliland tinamou. A shy but excel­ been established in eastern Virginia and are gradu­ lent game bird, this tinamou is white meated and ally extending their range. weighs close to 1 pound. It thrives in habitats such South Korean ring-11ecked pheasant. This strain as dense to open brushlands, grass and weeds, pas­ is showing up well in parts of the north Atlantic and tures, vineyards with suitable grass cover and culti­ midwestern States, but it is too early to predict vated areas. Its range includes valleys, coastal moun­ eventual establishment. tains and slopes of the Andes up to 5,000 feet. The California quail thrives in close proximity to the Chilean tinarnou. Habitat and climatic conditions Francolins similar to these are found in the Pacific Coast States and Hawaii. Black f ra11colin. This bird is being hunted in Hawaii with encouraging reports of expanding pop­ ulations in Lousiana, Florida and Guam. Current Status Gray franco/i11. This species is hunted in Hawaii, of Introductions in the but little success has been experienced from intro­ United States under the Foreign ductions into the Southwest. It is established on Game Investigation Program Guam.

Few people realize that it usually takes from 5 to 10 years after a species is first introduced before Partridges it either shows up in numbers or can be declared a Turkish failure. Also, as with the starling and house sparrow, chukar. There is an open season in Hawaii. In New Mexi first attempts are often unsuccessful for reasons that co fair-sized coveys arc still being sighted west and are not well understood. Not all of the species de­ north of Santa Fe. Chinese bamboo tailed above have been accorded a good trial, either partridge. This partridge is hunted because it was not possible to secure adequate num­ in Hawaii. Too few birds have been liberated elsewhere to provide bers of wild-trapped individuals, or because of diffi­ a good t est because of prob­ lems in culties in propagating enough healthy birds in cap­ propagating enough of them in capacity. Several species, tivity once the breeding stock had been obtained. including the white-crested Kalij pheasant For many species that have been released in ade­ and the red junglefowl, are showing prom­ ise but quate numbers, it is still too early to consider them have been liberated too recently or in too small numbers to justi as successes or failures ; more time will be needed to fy any opinion on the eventual outcome. It is, of test these experimental releases fairly. Some have course, too soon to evaluate the ultimate failed completely to establish themselves; others are introduction success of the Argentine and Chilean showing promise. The following introduced game tinamou collected from 1965 to 196 7. Most species li birds either have been hunted or show the best sted here, however, are proving to be fairly easy to propagate chances of eventual success at this time ( 1967) : in captivity.

In Summary Pheasants It is encouraging to note that none of the game Afghan white-winged pheasant. This species was bird species introduced have proven detrimental to hunted first in 1964 in New Mexico. More recently, agricultural crops. Nor is there any record of a dis­ an open season was declared in Nevada. Propaga­ ease or parasite, new to North America, being intro­ tion stock was first ohtained in the mid-1950's. duced with these species. Nor, again, has their pres­ Western Iranian black-necked pheasant. Al­ ence, to date, proven inimical to any native game though not yet hunted, this pheasant has shown birds that are to be found in coverts within the great promise in Virginia where the northern ring- general vicinity in which some of the introduced 13 species were released. have c hanged irreversibly as a result of human The Director of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and population movement and consequent agriculture Wildlife, John S. Gottschalk, recently summed up and industry. In these, resident native species have the Program in these words: " From its start the become extirpated because they were intolerant or program has been controversial. Some look on habitat changes. The foreign introduction program efforts with exotics as unnecessary and unwise. Also, takes cogni1.ance of this and seeks to bring in species there is the aesthetic objection to mixing foreign that can exist in such areas, succeed and become and native faunae. And, in addition, there is the <"Stablished." more practical concern about adding foreign forms Many biologists believe that the current program of life without knowing the biological and economic is a long step in the application of science and ronsequences. common sense to the problem of foreign game "On the other hand, many parts of our country introductions.

U.S. GOVOIHllEKT l'lllHTING OF1ICI : I~ 14 The United States Department of the Interior is concerned with management, conservation, and development of the Nation's water, wildlife, fish, mineral, forest, and park and recreational resources. It has major responsibilities also for Indian and Territorial affairs. Created in 1849, this Department has become America's prin­ cipal conservation agency, working to assure that nonrenewable resources are developed and used wisely, that park and recreational resources are conserved for the future, and that renewable resources make their full contribution to the progress, prosperity, and security of the United States, now and in the future.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service

BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE Resource Publication No. 49