Publications

Abstract has not been submitted

Waterfowl often fail to use foods that seem plentiful to the investigator. The extent to which selective feeding or rejection of foods is a function of behavioral and morphological adaptations of the species, conditioned behavior of the individual, or individual preference for certain foods has not been appraised. The objectives of our study were to determine: (1) the extent of selective feeding a

A 4-year production study of upland nesting waterfowl on the Missouri Coteau area of North Dakota showed that pair numbers, nesting densities and nest success were generally reduced by grazing. It is suggested that cover removal such as regular grazing and mowing be discontinued on areas managed primarily for waterfowl production and that management practices which create dense rank cover be subst

Abstract has not been submitted

The eggs of early-nesting waterfowl in North Dakota are frequently exposed to subfreezing temperatures. Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and Pintail (Anas acuta), normally the first ducks to arrive in the spring, begin limited early nesting in min-April. Nighttime temperatures during this period frequently drop below freezing, and late spring blizzards are not unusual.

Abstract has not been submitted

Bursa of Fabricius depths of 88 lesser snow geese (Anser c. caerulescens) and 69 small Canada geese (Branta canadensis hutchinsii/parvipes complex) were measured. Bursal depths were unreliable indicators of age-classes of lesser snow geese and small Canada geese; previously, the same had been found to be true for large Canada geese (B. c. interior). Regression in size or closure of the bursa first

A cable-chain device towed between two vehicles was developed for locating occupied duck nests in brushy, herbaceous, and grassy cover types. Twenty-three of 29 previously located gadwall (Anas strepera) and blue-winged teal (A. discors) hens were flushed from their nests with the drag for an efficiency of 79 percent. Eighty acres of nesting cover can be searched in 4-6 hours by the method describ

The neck plumage method, a new technique for separating immature from adult Canada geese (Branta canadensis) in the hand, was evaluated by comparison with the notched tail feather and cloacal examination methods. Two (1.4 percent) of 141 geese examined were misaged, resulting in a 6 percent error in the immature-adult ratio obtained by the neck plumage method. The neck plumage method is a rapid ag

Waterfowl use of bottomland hardwood timber stands which were flooded and killed was studied at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Falls, New York, from 1962 to 1964. Comparisons of use were made among six habitat types containing dead timber, stumps, and no timber, and with and without emergent vegetation. An index to waterfowl use was derived by direct counts and by counts made with

No abstract available.

Abstract has not been submitted