Northern Bobwhite

Colinus virginianus

The Northern Bobwhite's call is familiar to, and easily recognized by, most Missourians. It clearly whistles "bob bob white" with a rising inflection on the "white." A careful observer driving through the countryside often sees the Bobwhite calling from a fence post. Because they do not migrate, quail, as Bobwhite are frequently called, suffer the ravages of unpredictable ice and snow in Missouri when good cover is not available. Spring rains can negatively affect the success of this single-brooded, ground-nesting species (Dailey 1996). Their large clutch size, however, allows for a rapid rebound in population numbers following a few productive years. Agricultural land, brushland and open grassland throughout the state insure the continued availability of this species' habitat. One of their natural haunts, grassland with widely-scattered trees, has mostly been converted to other uses or succeeded into forest, losing the grass component this species requires.

Code Frequency

The Northern Bobwhite was the sixth most-commonly recorded species during the Atlas Project. This is no doubt due to their persistent vocalizations that commence in spring and continue to midsummer. Singing males, pairs, territoriality and sightings of fledged birds accounted for 77 percent of documentations. While Atlasers readily observed these breeding season behaviors, they found it difficult to locate nests and Eggs:. These birds likely bred in most blocks in which they were sighted.

Average Number of Birds / 100 stops

Distribution

Northern Bobwhites were found statewide. They were recorded in 95 percent of blocks in the Ozark and Mississippi Lowlands natural divisions and in 100 percent in the Glaciated Plains and Osage Plains natural divisions. This is one of few species distributed so widely in forested regions as well as in the most heavily agricultural regions.

Abundance

Noticeably lower relative abundances were observed in regions where clean agricultural practices prevail, such as the Mississippi Lowlands, and heavily forested areas, such as the Ozark and Ozark Border natural divisions. However, Bobwhites were still counted at many stops on relative abundance surveys and are considered a common resident even in these low-abundance areas. However, roadside quail counts, conducted in 1983-1995 by the Conservation Department, show continuing declines over the long run (Dailey 1996).

Phenology

This single-brooded, gallinaceous, ground-nesting species may renest repeatedly when weather, depredation or agricultural activity cause brood failure. This likely explains the mid-August nests with Eggs: and young.

Breeding Evidence

Reported in 1,176 (97.4%) of 1,207 blocks

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