During spring and summer they can be seen strutting across freshly mowed fields and along roadsides. When cornered or surprised, they take to the air. Strong fliers over short distances, they attain a maximum speed of 45 miles per hour in the open. In Pennsylvania, pheasants often roost in trees. The average pheasant ranges within one square mile.
Roosters claim individual breeding territories each spring.
With luck and persistence, he will collect a harem of hens. Breeding begins in late March or early April and may extend into August. The male does not help incubate eggs or raise young. Nesting occurs from April to August. A hen selects a nest site on the ground in a hayfield, a weedy field, an overgrown pasture or a brushy fencerow.