MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C- Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
May, 1967 
Vo 1. 10, No. 5 
1. Pheasant Populations and Land Use S. |_. Etter 
The characteristics of the molt of the primary wing feathers have been used 
for some years to determine the ages of juvenile pheasants. Several workers have 
reported on the regularity of the molt and on growth of the primaries of pen- 
reared pheasants, but few data are available concerning the application of this 
technique to wild birds. During the years 1962-66, 35 wild juvenile pheasants 
(19 cocks, 16 hens) captured in late summer and early fall were subsequently 
recaptured later in the fall trapping period. Comparisons of the molt patterns, 
on each of the capture dates, indicated that these wild pheasants molted at a 
slightly faster rate, and that the growth rate of the 10 th (outermost) primary was 
considerably faster, than those indicated for pen-reared birds. These differences, 
while marked, were quite consistent, and it appears that with modifications for 
the faster growth of the 10 th primary, the molt of the primary feathers can be 
used as a reliable indicator of the age of wild Illinois pheasants up to 20 weeks 
of age. 
2. Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat G. B. Joselyn 
Roadsides constitute a relatively small proportion (about 1.3 percent) of the 
total land area in the prime pheasant range in east-central Illinois. Under a 
management plan which would establish seedings on roadsides over a large area, 
limited acreage might be the most important factor limiting the effect of seedings 
on population levels of pheasants. Roadsides on the 36 -square-mile Sibley Study 
Area total approximately 350 acres. Discounting those roadsides with slopes too 
steep or too narrow to warrant seeding, and those for which permission to seed 
would be denied by farm operators, this total probably would be reduced to 150-200 
acres. 
The acreage of tame hay and pasture on the study area was estimated to be 2,850 
acres in 1963.* of which approximately 560 acres were unharvested hay; by 1966 the 
acreage of tame hay and pasture had been reduced to 1,462 acres, with only 135 acres 
unharvested. In l963, tame hay and pastures accounted for nearly 54 percent of the 
successful nests on the 100 , 10 -acre plots, and in 1966 , for 43 percent of the 
successful nests. A much higher population was present on the study area in 1963 
than in 1966. Therefore, the effect of 150-200 acres of seeded roadsides on the* 
pheasant population on the study area could have varied greatly between 1963 and 
1966 , it seems logical to assume that the impact would have been greatest in l 966 . 
There is as yet no evidence that maintaining 150-200 acres of seeded roadsides on 
the study area would alone maintain an adequate huntable population, but it is 
realistic to suppose that such seedings would supplement production in other cover 
types. 
NATURAL HISTORY ay.»»tV 
AUG 7 1967 
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