In most areas they simply fill up and move on, especially if their feeding area doesn't offer a lot of protection from predators or the elements. Quite often they will head for a nearby patch of cover where they can rest at ease, or maybe move around a bit without fear of becoming fodder for a red-tailed hawk. Any weed patches, draws, ditches, old homesteads or thick fencelines in or near a good feeding site are prime midday loafing areas. The edges of lush fields of Conservation Reserve Program grasses are also perfect places for pheasants to hide out and wait for dinner time. Under normal conditions pheasants may spend most of their day in a good loafing area, which is where most hunters have their best success these days.
Telltale tracks are always a tip-off.
Good habitat next to a good feeding area is always worth hunting in the late morning and early afternoon. Sometimes it's quite possible to find places where feeding and loafing habitats are one and the same. Any grainfield that's unharvested or holds a jungle of weeds can hold birds at any time of the day. In the southern half of pheasant country, if you can find a field of summer-cut wheat that's clogged with assorted weeds you can expect to find birds anytime from sunrise to sunset. For the most part, however, as the shadows begin to lengthen a pheasant's schedule usually will go into reverse as the birds move from loafing to feeding areas, and finally to roost.