Lots of pheasants together, or pheasants in crops = tough situation for pointing dogs. That being said, I had a Gordon--pretty close working anyhow--that was absolutely paranoid about losing track of me. She's the only pointing dog I've ever seen that would work standing corn well. Very much like a close working Lab, except she'd stick the ones that'd try to hide under clumps of weeds and stalks.
Scattered birds in grass, on the other hand . . . pointing dogs have a definite advantage in such places, especially if you're talking large fields. I got my first gsp just as the pheasant population in Iowa was really taking off (thanks to CRP). We hunted together for 11 seasons, during which she pointed nearly 2,000 wild pheasants.
