Relationship of pheasant occurrence to barium in Illinois soils

Distribution of the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is nearly co-extensive with the boundary of Wisconsinan glaciation; this is an area of base-rich soils that are mostly developed in calcareous tills. Anderson and Stewart (1973) speculated that barium in the diet might be a factor limiting the pheasant establishment in habitats adjacent to areas of long-term sustaining populations in Illinois. Total Ba was calculated for soils of 74 conterminous counties for which there were pheasant population data. Barium over the range of about 480 to 700 mg kg(-1) soil was unrelated to pheasant occurrence or to population indeces. The selective eating of iron-manganese concretions that are enriched in Ba might present a unique pathway for Ba loading.