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MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of 
G1 en 
Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
March, 
1964 
Vol . 
7, No. 3 
1. Pheasant Populations and Land 
Use 
J. 
E. Warnock 
Examination of a 2-inch band 
of vegetation 
encircli 
ng each nest bowl 
of 917 
pheasant nests found on 100, 10-acre plots 
on the Sibley 
Study Area in 1962 and 
1963 revealed that vegetation frequently utilized by pheasants for 
nesting con- 
sisted of: legumes only, 36.8 percent of the nests; grasses only, 
24.8 percent 
of the nests; legumes and grasses 
, 22.4 percent 
of the nests (Tabl 
e 1). 
Legumes 
were associated with 64-7 percent 
of the nests. 
grasses 
with 57-9 
percent 
, and 
other herbaceous plants, primaril 
y weeds, 
wi th 
15-3 percent. 
ihese data suggest that seeding weedy 
and 
waste areas, such as ditch 
banks, 
fencerows, unused portions of farmsteads, 
roadsides, and 
abandoned 
areas, 
to tame 
grasses and legumes would benefit 
nesting 
of pheasants. 
Table 1. Composition of vegetation proximal to pheasant 
nests examined on the 
Sibley Study Area, 1 96 2 and 1983* 
Percentage of Total 
Composition of Cover 
Number 
of Nests 
Number of Nests 
at Nest Site 
1962 1 
963 
Total 
1962 
1963 
Total 
Legume(s) Only 
156 
184 
340 
33-2 
40.6 
36.8 
Grass(es) Only'' 
90 
139 
229 
19-1 
30.7 
24.8 
Legume(s) and Grass(es) 
142 
65 
207 
30.2 
14.3 
22.4 
Other Herbaceous Plants Only 
9 
10 
19 
1 *9 
2.2 
2.1 
Legume(s) and Other Herbaceous 
PI ants 
15 
8 
23 
3-2 
1.8 
2.5 
Grass(es) and Other Herbaceous 
Plants 
39 
32 
71 
8.3 
7-1 
7-7 
Legume(s), Grass(es), and Other 
Herbaceous Plants 
19 
9 
28 
4.0 
2.0 
3.0 
Unknown 
0 
6 
6 
0.0 
1.3 
0.6 
Total 
470 
453 
923 
99-9 1 
00.0 
99.9 
Includes annual feed-grain crops, such as oats and wheat. 
"* Ne3t bowls not located for six nests destroyed in muddy, harvested hayfields. 
HHiiJAl HISIOOT SURVEY 
