These are not generally the areas of greatest need and feeding there can be detrimental. Many birds drawn to roads by feeding are subsequently killed by passing vehicles. Transportation and labor costs to distribute grain to areas where it is needed could easily double the cost. Predator-control programs are sometimes proposed to decrease the number of birds killed by predators. Unfortunately, predator-prey relationships are not a simple matter of mathematics whereby the subtraction of a predator equals the addition of pheasants for the hunter.
Predators are opportunists, and prey on any species readily available.
A fox or coyote will take a pheasant if it can, but opportunity varies with pheasant numbers and habitat quality. Predators tend to pursue the most abundant prey species, and in North Dakota pheasants seldom make up a major portion of any predator's diet. Their primary prey includes mice, ground squirrels and rabbits, species characterized by reproductive rates exceeding those of the pheasant. Diminishing returns control the actions of four-legged or flying predators much as they do those of human hunters. When prey populations decrease to the level of the carrying capacity of the land, continued efforts result in decreased returns.