Editing Common pheasant (section)

==== Population change ====
While pheasant populations are not in any danger, they have been decreasing in the United States over the last 30 years, largely in agricultural areas.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Coates|first1=Peter S.|last2=Brussee|first2=Brianne E.|last3=Howe|first3=Kristy B.|last4=Fleskes|first4=Joseph P.|last5=Dwight|first5=Ian A.|last6=Connelly|first6=Daniel P.|last7=Meshriy|first7=Matt G.|last8=Gardner|first8=Scott C.|date=2017-03-15|title=Long-term and widespread changes in agricultural practices influence ring-necked pheasant abundance in California|url= |journal=Ecology and Evolution|volume=7|issue=8|pages=2546–2559|doi=10.1002/ece3.2675|pmid=28428846|pmc=5395463|bibcode=2017EcoEv...7.2546C |issn=2045-7758}}</ref> This is likely due to changes in farming practices, application of [[pesticide]]s, [[habitat fragmentation]], and increased predation due to changes in crops grown.&nbsp; Many crops beneficial for pheasants (such as [[barley]]) are not being farmed as much in favour of using the land for more lucrative crops, such as nut trees.&nbsp; Many of these new crops are detrimental to pheasant survival.<ref name=":1" /> Pheasants prefer to nest in areas of significant [[Herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] cover, such as [[Perennial plant|perennial]] grasses, so many agricultural areas are not conducive to nesting anymore.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dwight|first1=Ian A.|last2=Vogt|first2=Jessica H.|last3=Coates|first3=Peter S.|last4=Fleskes|first4=Joseph P.|last5=Connelly|first5=Daniel P.|last6=Gardner|first6=Scott C.|date=2020|title=Linking nest microhabitat selection to nest survival within declining pheasant populations in the Central Valley of California|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=47|issue=5|pages=391|doi=10.1071/wr18199|s2cid=220834643|issn=1035-3712|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020WildR..47..391D }}</ref> Pheasant hens also experience higher levels of [[predation]] in areas without patches of grassland.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schmitz|first1=Richard A.|last2=Clark|first2=William R.|date=January 1999|title=Survival of Ring-Necked Pheasant Hens during Spring in Relation to Landscape Features|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3802495|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=63|issue=1|pages=147|doi=10.2307/3802495|jstor=3802495|issn=0022-541X|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, about 50 million pheasants reared in captivity are now released each summer, a number which has significantly increased since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=31 October 2020 |title= Game-bird shooting will need licences, ministers announce – days before legal battle|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/game-bird-shoot-licence-license-pheasant-partridge-chris-packham-b1457063.html |work= [[The Independent]]|access-date=28 November 2020}}</ref>  Most of these birds are shot during the open season (1 October to 1 February), and few survive for a year.  The result is a wildly fluctuating population, from 50 million in July to less than 5 million in June.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whatthesciencesays.org/estimating-the-number-and-biomass-of-pheasants-in-britain/|publisher=What the Science Says|title=Estimating the number and biomass of pheasants in Britain|date=14 July 2020|access-date=28 November 2020}}</ref>