We evaluated habitat selection of brooding hens relative to thermal conditions and vegetative cover. We found that brooding hens selected for cooler locations with greater vegetative cover, compared to hens that didn’t have broods. It appears that broods balance how they select areas within their range, striking a trade-off between where they forage relative to temperatures. Notably, we also found that no broods used areas with >27% woody vegetation in the understory, which is an important management implication. Bottom line is, if more than ¼ of the vegetation in a southern forest is woody plants, it’s not brood habitat.
