BIOLOGICAL SKETCH Common Name: Bobwhite quail Scientific Name: Colinus virginianus Female Name: Hen Male Name: Cock Name of Young: Chicks Senses and Physiology Adult bobwhite quail average between 9 and 10 inches in length and 6 to 8 ounces in weight. Sight and hearing are well developed but not smell. Males can be distinguished from females by a white eye and throat patch which are buff colored in females. Quail usually don*t live to become very old in the wild. In fact, approximately 80% of fall populations consist of 3 to 7 month old birds. Food Quail have been known to eat over 1,000 different types of plant food. Plants that quail use include grasses, forbs, legumes, mast crop, and agricultural crops. Additionally quail will feed on insects, especially during the spring/summer months when chicks have already hatched, as insects are an important source of protein. Much research has shown lespedeza as an important staple of bobwhites. Good feeding areas have 50 - 70% bare ground. This allows quail easier movement and food location as they won't have to move or scratch through heavy vegetation or litter.  Water Bobwhites don't require surface water. However, they will use standing water if available. Most of the time, quail are able to fulfill their water requirement from dew, insects and the vegetation they consume.  Cover Cover is the single most limiting factor to quail populations. Different types of cover are necessary. Nesting cover occurs in 6 - 18 inch high grass at a density of one 12 inch clump per square foot. Often, preferred nesting sites are old fields dominated by clump grasses. About 80% of quail nests are found within 25 feet of an edge where habitat types change and serve as a travel lane for the bird. Brood cover is also necessary for chick survivability. Chicks need freedom of movement at ground level, overhead concealment and a diverse assortment of green plants or plant parts within pecking height, which for a baby quail is approximately 2 inches. This means that vegetation should constitute 30 - 50% of any given area while as much as 70% of an area can be bare ground. Loafing/headquarter/winter cover is usually composed of shrubby/woody cover. Such loafing/headquarter/winter cover sites can be as small as 100 square feet., but ideally average around 400 square feet. Anywhere from 5 to 25% of the covey home range should be composed of such cover that ranges 3 to 6 feet in height. Usually this is composed of shrubs, small trees, brush piles, vines and similar vegetation.

Bobwhite Quail

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