Understanding thermal conditions provides context for the influence of habitat characteristics on gamebird winter ecology

The fundamental niche of an organism is regulated partially by its ability to cope with a range of thermal environments, which can be directly influenced by management across spatial scales and seasons. However, despite winter weather being a major source of mortality for many species in northern latitudes, the impact of thermal conditions on wintering wildlife is relatively understudied. Wildlife managers invest substantial resources in maintaining and improving ring‐necked pheasant Phasianus colchicus populations for hunting; therefore, understanding how the thermal environment influences site selection and survival is essential for developing effective conservation plans. To address this need we captured and attached radio transmitters to 68 hen pheasants in southwestern North Dakota from 2022 to 2024 to: 1) quantify the effects of proximate, landscape, and weather variables on tree roost use and winter roost site selection, and 2) examine the influence of land cover and weather variables on survival for hen pheasants during winter. Pheasants exhibited increased use of tree roosts at extremely low air temperatures and ground‐level roost site selection was associated with taller herbaceous vegetation. Overall roost site selection was influenced by proportion of grassland and woody cover relative to other land cover types out to 400 m. Although most of our winter telemetry points were in grassland cover, the availability of woody cover was significant in improving survival across multiple scales. Our results indicate that maintaining grassy cover within agricultural landscapes will benefit pheasants during winter, and woody cover placed in areas near grasslands will support local populations during severe winter weather. However, when designing woody plantings managers should carefully consider location, layout, and tree species to maximize the effectiveness of protective cover for pheasants while reducing the negative impacts to grassland‐dependent wildlife.