Vol. 13, No. 8 
Page 3 
SPECIAL REPORT 
Factors Influencing Distribution and Abundance of Pheasants W. L. Anderson 
It was previously reported that selected tissues (bone, liver, and muscle) 
from juvenile hens from Neoga (poor pheasant range) and from Sibley (good range) 
were being analyzed for sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium 
(MV/RL 13(6) :l-2). The hens were collected during February 1970. These analyses, 
which have now been completed, were conducted because earlier work indicated that 
sodium levels in grit and in pheasants were lower at Neoga than at Sibley. 
It was rewarding to learn that, of the five elements included in the analyses, 
sodium was the only one that exhibited statistically significant differences 
between birds from the two areas. It was surprising--and perhaps not rewarding-- 
that sodium was more abundant in the Neoga birds than in the Sibley birds. 
Sodium averaged 5,970 + 94 and 5,342 + 105 ppm in bone (difference is significant), 
856 + 16 and 749 + 41 ppm in liver (difference is significant), and 371 + 16 and 
371 + 17 ppm in muscle, Neoga birds compared with Sibley birds. These findings 
suggest that, if a sodium imbalance exists among pheasants at Neoga, the imbalance 
is not a simple deficiency, as was previously thought (MWRL 13(2):2-3). It is 
obvious that sodium levels in various components of the environment and in 
pheasants at Neoga and at Sibley need considerably more investigation. 
