This small plump bird is 8-11 inches long and weighs only 6-7 ounces. They are equipped with short, stout beaks and strong feet and claws, which are ideal for finding and eating the seeds and grains that make up the major portion of their diet. The body feathers are reddish-brown, mottled with black and white spots, and the tail is gray. On male bobwhites, the throat is white and a white band extends from the bill over the eye to the base of the neck. The area under the eye stripe is black and expands under the throat to form a black collar. Females lack this black collar and their throats and eye stripes are buff, rather than white. The quail's mottled coloring acts as a defense, and the bird often "freezes" when threatened or alarmed allowing its camouflage coloring to blend into its surroundings.
Beginning in late April or early May, male bobwhites define their "whistling territories", where they whistle the familiar "bobwhite" call to try to attract a mate. They defend this territory against other males, often puffing out their feathers and lowering their wings in an act of aggression. When a female approaches, the male uses a variety of displays to attract her including tail fanning, head lowering, bowing motions and ceremonial feeding or "tidbitting". Once the two have mated, they remain together throughout the breeding season, while unpaired males continue to whistle in the hopes of finding a mate. Cocks, in mated pairs, may also continue to whistle throughout the summer. After hatching, the young grow rapidly. Both adults feed the young, and if an intruder approaches they will attempt to lure it away by faking an injury like a broken wing. Bobwhite broods remain with their parents and, by early fall, are joined by unmated males and unsuccessful pairs to form large "coveys" of about 12-15 birds.
The bobwhite eats mainly vegetation, although insects are a very important part of the young's diet. During the spring, summer and fall, adults feed on fruits, greens and seeds with fruits of the wild grape, bittersweet, sumac, seeds of native legumes, and crops like corn, soybeans and small grains being their favorites. The adults also occasionally eat insects such as grasshoppers, crickets and beetles. In late fall and winter, quail rely on large weed seeds like ragweed, foxtail, smartweed and wild buckwheat, as well as waste corn and other grains.
Bobwhite quail live in a variety of different habitats. Prime habitat occurs on small farms with hedgerows and scattered conifer plantations. During the summer and fall, quail feed and rest in cropland areas, while grasslands provide spring and summer nesting cover. Brushy fencelines and woodland edges offer vital year-round roosting and escape cover and feeding in the fall and winter. Herbaceous or brushy cover areas work well and often quail use thickets of hazel, raspberry and grapevines, with shrubs like dogwood, willow and elderberry being preferred cover plants.
Quail are very social birds, remaining together in coveys when they feed and roost. In the roosting area, or covey "headquarters", 10-15 quail may gather in a circle to roost. They roost with their tails together to watch for predators and also for warmth. During feeding, the covey forages together, moving only as far as necessary to find food. The home range normally doesn't exceed ½ mile, except during seasonal movements that average about a mile. Bobwhites feed in the early morning and in the evening until dark, except when adults have broods and they feed all day long. They take daily dust baths working sand or soil into their feathers to remove parasites.
Bobwhites are susceptible to several parasites including lice, ticks, mites, fleas, roundworms and tapeworms, and diseases like avian pox, ulcerative enteritis, tularemia and aspergillosis. Predators of adult quail include red and gray fox, great-horned owl, several species of hawks and farm cats. Chicks and eggs fall prey to skunks, raccoons, opossums, ground squirrels, mink and weasels, and hay mowing and other agricultural activities can result in nest and egg loss. Extreme cold, sleet and heavy snowfall can also result in quail mortality.
Wisconsin's bobwhite population is currently threatened by increasing loss of habitat and agricultural practices that relies heavily on pesticides and herbicides for increasing grain production. Removal of brushy hedgerows, loss of crop diversity and increased use of pesticides have taken a devastating toll. Management for quail habitat is of major concern, and land management by private landowners is especially crucial as most of the suitable quail habitat is found on private lands.
Bobwhites are the second most hunted game bird in North America, behind pheasant, with over 20 million birds harvested annually. When young quail are barely a month old, they are capable of short bursts of speed, and adult birds literally explode from cover quickly reaching speeds of 55 miles per hour. Coveys will rarely travel over 1000 yards in a flight and lightly hunted birds may travel less than 10 yards before landing. Quail put their faith in their camouflage abilities and prefer to remain motionless and hidden. When they are hunted for the first time each season, they soon learn that their natural coloration does no good when matched against the nose of a pointing dog. These birds run ahead of points, break fast, fly hard, and dive into and through the thickest cover around. Bobwhites are easy birds to kill, but the fast burst on the rise can be breathtaking and confusing and they can be extremely difficult to hit. Concentration is the key, along with nerves of steel, and shooting into the middle of the rise will nearly always get you nary a feather. Pick out one bird, and only one, with each covey rise, and shoot at this bird until you drop it. Then move to another bird and repeat this process until your gun is empty or you have no birds in range. Consistently shooting doubles or better on a fast rise is the mark of a skilled wingshooter. Choose a short-barreled gun with a stock that fits so the gun can be shouldered quickly and easily. Pick a spot in front of the bird and shoot where you believe the bird will be, as pointing and trying to figure out distance and speed is too slow for erratic covey rises. After the covey breaks, you can often hunt up the singles, and singles often hold better than birds in a covey. It's always a good idea to leave at least half of the original birds in the covey to insure a healthy population for the next season.
