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Common Pheasants Were Not More Abundant in English Survey Squares With More Protected Land

Common pheasant in the United Kingdom
Research · Ecology

Tens of millions of common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) are released across the UK for shooting, raising concern about ecological effects if the birds move into protected areas. Using British Trust for Ornithology atlas data, researchers tested whether pheasants were relatively more abundant in English survey squares with a larger share of suitable protected land. They analysed 3,793 2 × 2 km tetrads across Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon and Hertfordshire, comparing winter and breeding-season records. The relative-abundance measure compared each tetrad with the county-level pheasant population at that time, so it described where pheasants were concentrated rather than estimating an absolute number of birds.

Protected-Area Coverage Did Not Predict Pheasant Abundance

There was no evidence that relative pheasant abundance increased as protected-area coverage increased. The relationship did not differ between winter and the breeding season or among the four counties. Habitat was more clearly linked to pheasant abundance: relative abundance was higher with more broadleaf woodland and arable cover and lower with more built-up areas and gardens.

The seasonal comparison tested whether pheasants shifted into or remained in protected areas after game management associated with the shooting season had declined. The authors say the lack of a protected-area relationship suggests pheasants did not preferentially disperse into or stay in protected areas compared with surrounding unprotected land. They therefore found no evidence that ecological impacts from released pheasants would be more likely inside protected areas simply because the birds were more abundant there.

The Analysis Provides a Baseline

The atlas data were collected between 2000 and 2013 and came from four predominantly lowland counties in southern England. Pheasant release numbers, land use and licensing around protected areas have changed since then, and effects or movements within a single survey square could be obscured at the 2 × 2 km scale. The authors therefore describe the analysis as a baseline, not as evidence that released pheasants cannot have ecological effects within protected areas.

Sources and image credit

  1. Wilde, J. A., Ozsanlav-Harris, L., & Madden, J. R. (2026). A spatial analysis of common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) abundance with reference to protected area coverage in England. Ecology and Evolution, 16(8), e74174. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.74174Primary open-access research article first published 20 August 2026. Analysed relative common pheasant abundance in 3,793 2 × 2 km tetrads across Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon and Hertfordshire and found no evidence of a relationship with suitable protected-area coverage in winter or the breeding season.

Image: Caroline Legg (cazalegg) / Wikimedia Commons / Flickr — common pheasant photographed in the United Kingdom on 23 September 2025; representative species image; cropped to 16:9 · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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