Renesting and the dynamics of nest site selection by 74 ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were studied by radio telemetry during 4 breeding seasons, 1968-71. Hens surviving the reproductive season established 1.8 nests (range 1-4); overall nest success was 31%. Sixty-nine percent of 1st nests were disrupted and 68% of the hens renested; 71% of 2nd clutches were prematurely terminated and 41% of the females renested. Renesting efforts produced 40% of the broods. Four hens renested after loss of a brood. The average hen (1) established a 1st nest within 0.8 km of the wintering area, (2) selected a site at the edge of her prenesting home range and the territories of associated cocks, and (3) favored retired cropland, wetlands, strip cover, or hayfields for nesting cover. Seventy-nine percent of the hens renested in a cover type that was different from the one selected initially. Most hens that nested initially in wetlands moved to upland sites for renesting. Average distance between successive nests was 396 m (range 63-2,264). J. WILDL. MANAGE. 43(3):705-716 Knowledge of pheasant nesting ecology is conspicuously deficient in regard to renesting and dynamics of nest site selection. An understanding of these phenomena is lacking because of the difficulty in obtaining reproductive histories of individual birds. Radiotelemetry provides a means of circumventing this problem by allowing daily contact with individual birds throughout the nesting season (Kuck et al. 1970, Hanson and Progulske 1973). This paper provides an assessment of these 2 aspects of pheasant nesting from data collected incidental to a radiotelemetry investigation of pheasant mortality (Dumke and Pils 1973) on a southeastern Wisconsin study area. The reproductive histories of 74 pheasant hens were obtained. Gates (1966) provided an earlier appraisal of renesting on an east-central Wisconsin area from the case histories of 14 back-tagged hens. We acknowledge funds provided by the University of Wisconsin Department of Veterinary Science and the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation to defray cost of telemetry equipment. H. H. Miller and his staff at the University of Wisconsin Instrument Systems Center constructed and maintained most of the electronic equipment. E. J. Frank, the late J. M. Gates, M. A. Martin, L. R. Petersen, E. E. Woehler, and R. W. Zeller assisted with project planning and execution. The manuscript was reviewed by J. B. Hale, J. R. March, S. B. Nehls, and D. R. Thompson. STUDY AREA AND METHODS The investigation was conducted at the Waterloo Wildlife Area, a 6,500-ha complex of state-owned and private lands located in southeastern Wisconsin. Topography of the region is characterized by recessional moraines with relief of roughly 30 m between ridge tops and valleys. A summary of land use revealed 49% under cultivation, 19% in permanent pasture, 14% in undisturbed wetlands and 18% in other cover types. Dairy farming was the most prevalent agriculture, but cash crops (peas, sweet corn, mint, and 1 Supported in part by funds supplied by the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act under PittmanRobertson project W-141-R. J. Wildl. Manage. 43(3):1979 705 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.159 on Sun, 18 Sep 2016 04:50:43 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 706 NESTING BY PHEASANTS IN WISCONSIN* Dumke and Pils Table 1. Mean date of onset of laying at a nest by radio-tagged pheasants on the Waterloo Wildlife Area.