M £ h 
MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
November, 1 963 
Vo 1. 6, No-. 11 
1. Pheasant Popu1 at ions and Land Use J. E. Warnock 
A ratio of 3°4 young pheasants of both sexes per adult hen was found among 
the 1,001 pheasants captured on the Sibley Area during October and early 
November, I 963 , whereas a ratio of 5*0 young per adult hen was found among the 
1,821 pheasants captured during the same period in 1962. In 19&3> a 9 e ratios 
within sexes were 1.7 young hens per adult hen and 9-7 young cocks per adult 
cock. The sample of 1,001 pheasants was comprised of 40.7 percent cocks and 
59•3 percent hens. Percentages of cocks within age groups were 14.9 for 
adults and 49.6 for juveniles. 
These data indicate a lower rate of production in 1963 than in 1962 and/or 
a lower rate of adult hen mortality in late summer and early fall of 1963 than 
during the same period in 1 962 . Data (see Wildlife Research Letters, August 
and September, 1963) on the proportion of breeding hens observed to be brood¬ 
less, numbers of broods observed along standardized routes, and the proportion 
of established nests that were successful during 1962 and 1963 support the 
hypothesis of decreased production of pheasants in 1963* 
2. Man 1pu1 at ion of Pheasant Habitat G. B. Joselyn 
In 1963> some unfavorable public relations problems developed because of 
the growth of annual weeds on those roadside plots where grasses and legumes, 
planted to create nesting habitat for pheasant hens, had not become well es- 
blished. The growth and maturation of annual weeds on some roadside plots 
during late July and early August caused several farmers to want their road¬ 
sides mowed on or about August 1, prior to the completion of the last search 
for pheasant nests in 1 963 - 
Subsequent analysis of the data collected in 1 963 revealed that none of 
the 37 nests, for which establishment dates were known, were initiated on 
either seeded or control plots after July 21, and only 1 of the 24 successful 
nests located on the roadside plots hatched after July 21. Therefore, it is 
tentatively planned that in subsequent years (pending annual changes in plant 
phenology), nest searches will be completed on or before July 20 so as to 
allow mowing of the plots before August 1. 
NAWRAL 
HISTORY SURVEY 
