Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides have been the subject of considerable controversy. DDT, the most controversial insecticide, and other chlorinated hydrocarbons have been used extensively until recently when their uses were altered by state and federal legislative and judicial actions. The use of these materials has declined but the problem of environmental pollution still exists because of the persistence and ubiquity of these "hard" pesticides. Insecticides have been implicated as being the causative factor in the decline of some predatory bird populations. The concern herein is not with a species at the top of a food chain but with the bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus. L.), a favorite game bird which consumes primarily plant material. As a farm game species, the bobwhite is compatible with agriculture and in many instances exists in high populations on farmed areas. Consequently, during all stages of its life history this bird and its food are subjected to direct applications of pesticides of many kinds. The bobwhite quail may serve as an indicator of the presence of certain persistent insecticides in the areas tested. A decision was made to determine residues of DDT in six tissues and crop contents of bobwhite quail collected from eight areas which had been exposed to various degrees of insecticide application.
