Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) winter habitat use of shrub steppe and irrigated agriculture in the inter-mountain west has been poorly studied. Consequently, I used radio telemetry to study winter habitat use of 76 female ring-necked pheasants in southern Idaho from early December to March in 1986-88. Pheasants were relocated 688 times during diurnal and nocturnal time periods. Pheasants preferred (P≤0.01) sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), wetland, and herbaceous cover types and avoided (P≤0.01) grassland and agricultural cover types. Livestock grazing decreased (P<0.065) pheasant use of the sagebrush cover type. Habitat preference varied with time of day; birds used woody cover during the day and herbaceous cover at night