A method for attaching a radio transmitter and power cell to game birds is described. Flexible plastic tubes form a harness which holds the power cell in the crop region and the transmitter between the scapulae. This design has been used for several years in telemetry studies on ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Ruffed grouse marked with radio transmitters have been successfully tracked at the Cloquet Forest Research Center in Minnesota since 1962. In succeeding years the technique of attaching the package (transmitter-battery-harness) has been steadily improved, and in this report I describe a device considerably modified from the prototype developed by Marshall and Kupa (1963). It is difficult to test the effect of a transmitter package on the behavior of a freeranging animal. At Cloquet we feel that if a transmitter-equipped female grouse breeds, brings off a normal-sized clutch, cares for her brood, and successfully faces the rigors of winter, or if a similarly equipped male engages in drumming and overwinters, this is proof that the package has not significantly influenced a bird's behavior. Normal behavior in this sense has been repeatedly observed in grouse marked with 20-gram packages. In one notable case, a hen radio-marked on March 22, 1963, was recaptured on December 12, 265 days later. She was in excellent condition and the assemblage (including the long-dead battery) was riding very well. Correspondence with field biologists has shown that this harness arrangement, or 1 Paper No. 6505, Scientific Journal Series, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, St. Paul. A contribution from project supported by NSF Grant No. GB-1345. 2 Present address: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 630 slight modifications of it, have been sucessfully used on other game birds. This includes work done by H. Swope on sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Colorado, by P. Schladweiler on sage grouse a d blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) in Montana, by L. McEwen on sharp-tailed grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus) and pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) in Colorado, by L. Bernhoft on sharp-tailed grouse in North Dakota, by R. Robel on prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) in Kansas and black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) in Scotland, and by A. Carter on pheasant in South Dakota. There is no reason to suspect that the design could not be used for other upland game birds, provided suitable light transmitters and batteries are available. As the harness is designed for a whip antenna, it is not strictly applicable where a loop transmitting-antenna is required. The transmitters were manufactured by Sidney Markusen, Electronic Specialties, Cloquet, Minnesota. His assistance and that of William H. Marshall, Gordon W. Gullion, and Bruce A. Brown is gratefully acknowledged. CONSTRUCTION OF HARNESS Two flexible plastic tubes, %2-inch in diameter, are anchored by the manufacturer in the epoxy-resin encapsulated transmitter. These tubes are the primary harness material and also carry the negative and positive power leads. To facilitate knot-tying, the tubes should be long enough to leave a This content downloaded from 207.46.13.101 on Sun, 09 Oct 2016 04:42:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms A RADIO-PACKAGE HARNESS FOR GAME BIRDS * Brander Fig. 1. Whip antenna (Ant), attachment lop (AL), transmittep r (Tr), plastic tubes carrying positive and negative power leads (H+ and H-). b, Step 1. c, Step 2. d, Steps 3-4. significant surplus after the animal is harnessed. For ruffed grouse the tubes as supplied are each 18 inches long; about 6 inches are removed from each tube after the final knot is tied. Step 1 (Fig. lb): The plus tube is crossed over the minus tube and the junction is secured with 4 or 5 turns of vinyl electrical plastic tape. The distance from this junction to the rear end of the transmitter should be equal to the distance from the bird's neck to the trailing edge of its wing (about 21/2 inches in the ruffed grouse). Step 2 (Fig. Ic): The tubes are crossed again to form a loop which is just large enough to slip. over the bird's head (1l/2inch diameter for the ruffed grouse). This junction is also secured with 4 or 5 turns of tape. Step 3 (Fig. ld): The power cell is positioned between the + and tubes so that its anterior end is about 34-inch from the ventral edge of the neck loop. A mark is made on the appropriate tube (+or -) opposite its terminal counterpart on the positioned cell. Step 4 (Fig. Id): From each mark a slit about 1/4-inch long is carefully cut with a razor blade along the long axes of the tubes. A pointed device (a dissecting probe works quite well) is then used to extract about 1-inch of power lead from each slit. The leads are cut and the surplus is removed from the tubes. Each extracted lead, except a segment of about %-inch, is stripped of its insulation and soldered or clipped to the proper battery terminal (connection methods are discussed in more detail by Kuechle 1967). At the negative end of the battery it is important that only the insulated portion of the minus lead contacts the battery case. Upon completion of this step, the transmitter should be checked for signals. Step 5: The power cell and the adjacent tubes are wrapped in tape. As a final step before the harness is placed on the bird, all tape ends are coated with Duco cement to prevent unraveling. 631 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.101 on Sun, 09 Oct 2016 04:42:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 632 Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 32, No. 3, July 1968 Fig. 2. Radio-package placed on a ruffed grouse, showing detail of knot and attachment loop. Step 6 (Fig. 2): Two men place the package on a bird. While one man holds and positions the bird the other slips the neck loop over its head. The loop and battery are then carefully buried in feathers (down to the aftershafts in the ruffed grouse). The two harness ends are then brought back under the wings, with careful fitting under the feathers, and one end is passed through the attachment loop of the transmitter. Both leads are snugged quite securely so that it is difficult to pass a finger between the harness and the bird's side. The harness ends are secured with a square knot positioned to one side of the loop. The loose ends are taped as illustrated and the surplus harness is removed. A paper card slipped under the harness will prevent fouling with the back feathers during the final taping. It may be necessary to change the battery of a recaptured marked bird. With some practice this may be done without removing the harness. A paper card is slipped between feathers and battery, the tape is removed, and the terminal joints are unsoldered. Then a new cell is soldered and taped into place. It is of course advisable to minimize the time spent in harnessing a bird. This method is rapid and for a ruffed grouse seldom requires more than 5 minutes.
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Robert B. Brander (1968) studied this question.