Quail

Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus

Family Odontophoridae (Quail)

Size: 10"

Season: Year-round

Habitat: Brushy fields and open woodlands

The bobwhite, like other quail, is a secretive, ground-dwelling bird that usually takes flight only if alarmed. It travels in coveys of ten or more, while scavenging for seeds, berries, and insects. It is plump with a very short, gray tail and a short, thick, curved bill. Its plumage is heavily streaked rufous, gray, and black, with a plain, rufous breast below a mottled black upper neck. It has a white superciliary stripe and throat. The female is paler with a greater extent of rufous coloring and a buffy eye line and throat. Its call sounds somewhat like its name, bob-white. The adult male is illustrated.