Table 1. Range of mean annual temperatures occurring in 
portions of green pheasant habitat in Japan 

Area Coldest month Warmest month 
Northern Honshu 25°F to 36°F 72°F to 77°F 
Central Honshu 33 to 45 68 to 82 
Southwestern Honshu 35 to 45 78 to 82 
Shikoku 31 to 46 72 to 83 
Kyushu 39 to 46 79 to 83 
At the meteorological station of Morioka in Iwate Prefecture of 
Northern Honshu a maximum temperature of 99 F. and a minimum of O°F, 
have been recorded. Slightly more northern stations have recorded lows 
of -13°F. In s@uthe rn green pheasant range near Kagoshima, Kyushu, a 
temperature of 97.2°F, and a low of 19,9°F. have been recorded. 
In northern Honshu the mean annual temperature is below 54°F. Here 
snow cover lasts over 80 days on the ground, most of which falls between 
December and February. From central Honshu southward, milder mean annual 
temperatures of 54°F. or above occur while snow rarely falls in these 
southern latitudes, The precipitation often is higher than in northern 
Honshu, ranging between 40 to 100 inches annually. September is the 
month of heaviest moisture throughout most of Japan. 
It is reported by wildlife officials in northern Honshu that wet, 
cold weather, occurring after the chicks have hatched in May, has 
caused higher than usual mortality. High relative humidity during the 
nesting periods is common in the range of the green pheasant, varying 
during May and June from 71 to 76 percent in northern Honshu. Relative 
humidity in southern green pheasant range during January and April 
normally extends from 72 to 75 percent. 
This climatic pattern of temperatures and precipitation for Japan 
is similar to that experienced in the 40- to 60-inch rainfall areas of 
eastern and southeastern United States. Here the main season of rain 
is normally June to August; summers are hot and humid and winters are 
cold to mild, the latter in the more southern States. 
Climacurves for northern green pheasant range on Honshu are pre- 
sented in Figure 16. These comparisons, covering four selected seasons 
of the year, present the mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures in 
relation to precipitation for each three-month period. Smoothed curves 
drawn for each seasonal period represent the upper and lower limits of 
mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures in relation to the amount of 
precipitation. 
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