MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
T. G. Scott, Editor 
Urbana, Illinois 
August, 1963 
Vo l. 6, No. 8 
1. Pheasant Populations and Land Use J. E. Warnock 
The standardized counts of pheasant broods made on the Sibley area during July 
and August, 1963# revealed 16.9 percent fewer broods than were recorded in 1962. 
The number of broods observed along 640 miles of roadside transect (2, 40-mile 
routes were driven weekly) was 207 broods in 1 963 compared to 249 In 1962; com¬ 
parable counts were 285# 235# 198 , 240, and 194 broods in 1961 # i 960 , 1959# 1958 , 
and 1957 # respectively. 
The number of adult pheasant hens observed during July and August along these 
same 640 miles of roadside increased from 374 hens in 1962 to 461 hens in 1963# or 
23.2 percent. A total of 6 O .7 percent of the adult hens observed in 1 963 were 
broodless compared to 42.8 percent in l 962 . 
These data suggest that the population of breeding hens was greater in l 963 
than in 1962 but that the production of young pheasants, with respect to both 
proportionate and absolute numbers, was less in I 963 than in 1962. 
2. Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat G. B. Joselyn 
During the spring of 1962, the planting procedure on manipulated plots on 
roadsides near Sibley included plowing, disking, and harrowing, followed by hand 
seeding with a cyclone seeder. No fertilizer was applied. Success in the estab¬ 
lishment of good stands of grasses and legumes by these planting methods has 
varied greatly. On the basis of criteria for measuring the establishment of 
stands of seeded grasses and legumes, approximately 3 of the 7 miles of manipu¬ 
lated roadside plots planted in 1962 could be classified as only fair to poor 
pheasant nesting habitat this summer (1963). 
In an attempt to Improve the quality of seeded plots, an additional mile-long 
plot (approximately 2 acres) of recently reworked roadside on the Sibley study 
area was seeded on August 22. As a result of soil tests and recommendations of 
the Ford County farm advisor, 4 tons of limestone and 60 pounds of superphosphate 
(P2O5) per acre were applied prior to plowing. Seeding was done mechanically by 
use of a brill ion seeder, which resulted in a more even distribution of seed over 
the ground and a more compact seed bed. 
3. Factors Influencing Distribution and Abundance of Pheasants 
W. L. Anderson, S. L. Wunderle 
The percentage fertility of eggs laid by pheasant hens on the Neoga area in 
1961, 1962, and 1963 was based on determination of the presence or absence of em¬ 
bryos in 459 incubated eggs. The results of these analyses revealed that 93*9 
