Download Species Profile: Northern Bobwhites Many of my favorite stories from

Species Profile: Northern Bobwhites
Many of my favorite stories from my mother’s childhood involve the wildlife she
was exposed to growing up down a hollow in rural southern Ohio. Possibly the most
intriguing to me was that she had a window in her bedroom through which she could
watch foxes prowl at night while she lay bundled in her bed. I also found it enchanting
that she commonly heard bobwhites singing in the brush while she played in the yard.
For the first eighteen years of my life, the two ideas were comparably exotic to me
because I had never seen either outside a museum or a movie.
Then, one early summer day while I lay in our hammock as the sun set over
southeastern Ohio, I heard a very confident voice slowly enunciate, “Bob-white!”
Although I had never heard this call before, I immediately recognized what it was—after
all, how could I not, since the bird was naming himself? After pausing a moment to make
sure he would sing again, I went inside and brought my mother out to the porch. As soon
as she heard the bobwhite call, an enormous smile spread across her face. It was a song
she associated with, and had not heard since, childhood—and one she has not heard in the
six years since. That bobwhite was the first and only of its kind to visit our yard, and will
probably be the last: All across North America, bobwhite populations are declining
precipitously and in 2004 the species was added to the World Conservation Union’s Red
List of Threatened Species.
That dubious distinction comes more than two hundred years after the northern
bobwhite, Colinus virginianus, received its official scientific name, which is derived from
the Nahuatl Indian word “zolin,” meaning “partridge,” and the state named after the
“virgin” Queen Elizabeth, where it was first identified. The bobwhite’s English name has
been alternatively interpreted as both its namesake and as the phrase “more wet,” a sign
to farmers of oncoming rain.
As early settlers spread westward, they took with them their preference for
hunting bobwhites; the bird is commonly referred to as the “king of the native American
game birds” and remains one of the continent’s most economically important birds for
this reason. Consequently, it is one of the most studied avian species worldwide.
Bobwhites spend the bulk of the year foraging, traveling, and sleeping in coveys,
groups of 3-20 birds that remain together during the non-breeding months. During the
day, coveys forage together throughout their territory, using their strong feet to uproot
vegetation and rip it apart for its seeds and leaves. During the night, the birds roost
together in a circle (a “rosette”) with tails pointing inward and faces pointing outward.
The extra eyes assist in avoiding predation and the warmth of extra bodies compensates
for colder temperatures. In winter months when food is scarce and often covered by
snow, this method of teamwork can mean the difference between life and death.
For a bobwhite, however, death is always imminent: The average individual
survives less than one year in the wild. The most frequent causes of death are exposure
(during the winter) and predation from both avian (Cooper’s hawks, buteos, owls) and
mammalian (raccoons, skunks) predators. Because bobwhites build their nests on the
ground, incubating adults and the eggs they protect are at an increased risk of predation
during the breeding season.
The covey offers some protection from these dangers, since each bird is on the
lookout for potential predators. This social organization has led to the development of a
number of different vocalizations to allow covey members to communicate very
specifically—bobwhites have separate calls for hatching, being disturbed, coordinating
covey movement, checking in with covey members, pointing out food, wooing a mate,
conveying alarm, and being aggressive.
Although bobwhites prefer to run, they can fly short distances after explosive
takeoffs, moving with speeds comparable to those of a collegiate sprinter. They also
engage in dust-bathing, which, like a yawn, usually begins with one individual but
quickly spreads around the group. One last identifying characteristic of bobwhites is
their smell, with which I had personal experience when I worked as a bird bander in
Indiana. All summer, bobwhites had topped my list of Most Desired Catches, and on the
last day of banding at one of our sites, I inadvertently flushed one up into our mist-nets as
I walked around a corner. With great excitement I plucked him from the net, only to
immediately be overwhelmed with one of the all-time most noxious and pervasive scents
I have ever inhaled. My partner and I held our breaths while taking copious pictures of
our prize at lightning speed. For months I had craved a bobwhite in the hand and now I
couldn’t wait to let him go!
I am willing to forgive bobwhites the rancor of their odor, however, when I
consider their population status. With the exception of Texas, where the birds have
consistently shown stable trends, bobwhites are significantly declining across their range
in North America. Historically, the birds were dependent on frequent (every 1-5 years)
disturbance from fire, wind, and/or water. Thanks to agriculture, increasing urbanization,
and a lack of consistent prescribed burns, bobwhite habitat has dramatically been reduced
to the point where many people—like my mother—know the birds from memory rather
than recent experience.
Traditionally, management of bobwhite habitat is considered one of the most
expensive programs to implement. However, in areas where habitat is being created and
maintained for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, a push is being made to
simultaneously encourage and manage for bobwhite populations. Because the two birds
share habitat needs, locations already being cultivated for one species can, with a few
minor changes, also provide much-needed space for the other.
For nature lovers looking to create bobwhite habitat in their own backyards, a few
simple steps can increase your chances of attracting a covey. Most important is
providing cover—but not too much cover: Ditches, field corners, and unused paths
should be allowed to grow over naturally and fields should be surrounded by an
unmowed grass border of five or more feet; but areas of dense growth, such as thickets,
should be mowed or burned. Also important is to abstain from the use of chemicals and
pesticides, which not only reduce the presence of edible insects, but may directly be
ingested by feeding bobwhites.
I have had numerous bobwhite encounters over the years since I began doing field
ornithology—notably at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, where
practically every step you took revealed a bobwhite underfoot. I also recently tagged
along during a bobwhite survey conducted by the Virginia Department of Game and
Inland Fisheries, during which the surveyor noted several more bobwhites than had been
counted the previous year.
It’s pleasant to have memories of the birds where they are so bounteous and
thriving. I know they do not portray the true stories of bobwhites, though; this is more
accurately accomplished by the memory of my final encounter with that bobwhite in my
backyard several years ago. Only two or three days after my mom and I basked in his
emphatic call, I found him lying by the side of the road in front of my house; he had been
hit by a car, probably while flying low to the ground, as bobwhites do. What makes me
most sad is not that it was my first bobwhite that had been killed, or even that he had
been killed needlessly. Instead, I was thinking of how it was the first bobwhite my
mother had seen in decades, and would probably be the last she would ever see. And it
made me think, What if it’s the last one I ever see?
Looking back, I’m glad it wasn’t my last glimpse of a bobwhite, but with the
birds’ precipitous decline, the possibility remains that each most recent sighting will be.
Bobwhites are not only a valuable and interesting part of the American economy and
ecosystem, but also a part of our history and tradition. The Swedish traveler Peter Kalm
found them interesting enough to write home about during his 1757 visit, and I can only
hope that many other travelers in the years to come will have the chance to do so also.
What to Look for and Where
There are 22 recognized subspecies of bobwhites across their natural range; each
has unique field marks ranging from subtle (an incomplete eyeline) to dramatic (a
completely black head). The “typical” American bobwhite—a group which includes 8 of
the 22 subspecies—is a smallish, round-tailed quail with a slight crest; it has a finelyspotted reddish-brown body with a pale belly. Both males and females have dark caps,
eyelines, and throat, but while the male’s is black, the female’s is usually dark brown;
similarly, while the male has a white chin and supercilium, the female’s is buffy.
Bobwhites can be found in early successional habitat: areas that have recently
been cleared and then allowed to grow over—fallow fields, hedgerows, fence lines,
grazed pastureland. During the winter, when snow may be prevalent, coveys will
congregate in areas that have been protected from snowfall.
The birds forage at ground level so are often hidden in the vegetation, but can
easily be seen as they move from one feeding patch to another (often crossing open areas
such as paths, or running from one group of bushes to another).
During the breeding months, when bobwhites can be easily located thanks to their
clear, loud mating call, the birds are active from approximately 5 AM until 7:30 PM.
They feed most heavily in the early morning and late afternoon just before dark, making
these the most likely times to run across a foraging covey. Bobwhites also tend to be
more active on overcast days, proving yet again that inclement weather doesn’t always
mean inclement birding.
Feeding Behavior
During the day, coveys forage together throughout their territory. Bobwhites are
opportunistic feeders, but prefer seeds and small insect that they locate by using their
strong feet to scratch through the leaf litter. Juvenile bobwhites eat mostly insects, since
high levels of protein are required to fuel their growing bodies.
Winter can be difficult for a hungry bobwhite because snow and ice may prevent
the birds from locating food. This is probably why the 18th-century farmer Hector St.
John de Crèvecoeur reported throwing seed out for bobwhites during the winter, as well
as chaff for them to stand on so their feet wouldn’t get too cold!
Courtship and Nesting Behavior
Adult male bobwhites begin wooing females in January or February using their
characteristic “bob-white!” call. One scientific study counted an average of 60-170 of
these calls per hour per male; a single average bird could total as many as 1,430
vocalizations per day!
Once a pair has formed, they wait until April or May to select their nesting site
and construct a ground scrape lined with soft vegetation for cushioning. Sometimes they
even weave grasses and weeds into a concealing arch for added protection from
predators.
The pair then lays, on average, 12 eggs—though up to 28 have been counted in
one nest. Bobwhites have a complicated mating system in which it is fairly common for
either or both members of a pair to mate with another individual and raise a second,
simultaneous brood. So, depending on whom is having an “affair,” either the male or
female can incubate the eggs and raise the resulting young. Like killdeer, parent
bobwhites engage in wing-dragging displays when they feel their young are threatened by
a potential predator.
Bobwhite chicks are almost immediately able to fend for themselves once they
hatch, although they initially rely on their parents to direct them towards the food. The
young can run almost immediately after hatching, but take about two weeks to develop
the ability to fly. One thing they can’t do, though, is keep warm—baby bobwhites cannot
thermoregulate until they are two weeks old, which means they need a lot of TLC during
those chilly early summer evenings!