The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), also known as the Virginia quail or (in its home range) bobwhite quail, is a ground-dwelling bird native to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, with introduced populations elsewhere in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. It is a member of the group of species known as New World quail (Odontophoridae). They were initially placed with the Old World quail in the pheasant family (Phasianidae), but are not particularly closely related. The name "bobwhite" is an onomatopoeic derivation from its characteristic whistling call. Despite its secretive nature, the northern bobwhite is one of the most familiar quails in eastern North America, because it is frequently the only quail in its range. Habitat degradation has contributed to the northern bobwhite population in eastern North America declining by roughly 85% from 1966 to 2014.<sup>[4]</sup> This population decline is apparently range-wide and continuing.<sup>[5]</sup><sup>[6]</sup>
There are 20 subspecies of northern bobwhite, many of which are hunted extensively as game birds. One subspecies, the masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi), is listed as endangered with wild populations located in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and a reintroduced population in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona.
I had to look up their range to figure why I've never seen one. Our ranges don't overlap. Mine being Maine, NH and north-central Massachusetts. Ruffed grouse (partridge) is the related species I'll see in the woods.
Mmmm. Quail are nice but grouse is just so tasty.
Apparently sage grouse are on a comeback in Nevada. I was on a job in Winnemucca a few weeks ago. At dinner I sat with group of guys who were going to spend the week hunting them. They said it was the first time the seasons has been open for more than a couple of days a year. It is still a controlled hunt in Oregon.
I think I killed half a dozen quail on the 150 mile round trip from the hotel to the job site. They seemed to be committing suicide by truck.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
We used to have Bob Whites through our yard on a regular basis.
I haven't seen one in at least 5 years.
No shortage of turkeys, though.
Here is another Mr. Bob White, a classic sporting artist of some fame and great talent.
@john-putnam You have to take those breast and slather them down with some cow salve butter with a little secret ingredients then wrap a good piece of slow cured smoked bacon around them. Then a small smoky fire to get them done and BAM make you slap your momma good.
In my youth, I shot at many quail, possibly killing a few. Those sneaky rascals scare you to death as the entire covey (16+/-) raise a ruckus as they go airborne at very low elevations. There were zero wild turkey encountered.
The Fish and Game boys decided to re-introduce wild turkey in our area. Now there are bazillions of wild turkey found but very few quail. The story I've heard is that the turkeys destroy quail eggs. I don't know.
I can remember walking into a deer stand at dark in the mornings and after the first time you jumped a covey of quail you crossed your fingers and had a nice relief if you could make it to the stand without jumping one. It can turn your heart rate up fairly quickly the first few times for sure.
I use to bird hunt and really enjoyed that watching a dog work and point etc.
A small covey of Bob Whites in NW Kansas in someone's backyard.
My family bird hunted since the 30's at least. My ggrandpa "market" hunted back then, my grandma's dad, by trading birds he had killed for eggs, more shells, etc and by shipping feathers and carcasses by barrel to St Louis by train. I got to hunt with him about three times. Of course he was aged and had slowed by then but to bird hunt with some old heads, my grandpa and ggrandpa was something special. Even a 14 yo kid like me could appreciate the significance of that at the time. My grandpa and me had some great hunts together. Granny picked every bird we killed. As a girl at home, to my Grandma and her 82 yrs, I'd like to know how many birds she picked. I seldom even hear one any more.
