Northern Bobwhite
The Northern Bobwhite shows the most geographic variation of any American gallinaceous birds (including turkeys, grouse, partridges, etc.). Across their wide range from the eastern and midwestern United States south into Mexico and Cuba, the females tend to look similar. Males vary from forms in Mexico with completely dark heads and rufous underparts to the familiar northern form with its white throat and supercilium, and streaked and mottled underparts. The Masked Bobwhite, a subspecies found in southern Arizona prior to 1900, is a rufous-bellied form with dark head and faint supercilium. Reintroduction attempts have been unsuccessful, and remaining populations in Sonora are declining from overgrazing.
Northern Bobwhite Range Map

The covey is the primary social unit for the Bobwhite outside of the breeding season. In late summer and fall family groups are augmented by the addition of unmated and unsuccessful adults. Coveys typically number between 10 and 15 birds, a group size appropriate for their roosting circles. Bobwhites' use of habitats can vary seasonally. Usually a brushy "headquarters" is used for roosting, from which they venture out to croplands for feeding and dusting in summer and fall, to woodlands in fall and winter for feeding on mast, and to grasslands in spring and summer for cover, feeding and nesting. Bobwhites are sedentary birds, and they rarely move far from their headquarters. In the South coveys have ranges from 8 to 18 acres in size. Coveys use larger areas, up to 50 acres, in the less favorable northern and western parts of the range. Northern Bobwhites roost communally on the ground in tight circles, heads facing out and sides touching. This formation allows them to conserve heat on cold nights.

Insects and other animal food make up about 30 percent of the diet in summer and 5 percent in winter. The rest consists of vegetable food, predominantly legume seeds and acorns in the South and coastal areas. The seeds of cultivated grains and weeds are used more frequently in the northern and western areas of the range. Bobwhites typically have two daily foraging sessions, one in the morning and again in the late afternoon to dusk. They usually don't feed during rainy weather or when vegetation is wet.

At the onset of the breeding season, the coveys split up. In the southern parts of the range, breeding season begins in March, while in the North, mid-May signals the start of nesting. Bobwhites nest on the ground in a shallow depression lined with grass and herbs and with live plants pulled over to conceal the nest from above. Both sexes build the nest. The average clutch size is 14 eggs. They hatch after about three weeks of incubation. By October or November this number is usually reduced to eight or nine chicks, and further losses occur throughout the year. Very few bobwhites live long enough to breed more than once.

The call of the male is well known, a two-note whistle with emphasis on the second note: "bob-WHITE!" Unmated males use this call most frequently, although it may also be heard throughout the breeding season. Other calls include so-called "covey calls" that serve to reassemble dispersed coveys, sounding like a plaintive and questioning "hay-loi-kee?"

Description: Northern Bobwhites are small (9" to 10") short-tailed birds about the size of a bantam hen. Males have conspicuous white supercilia and throats in the races found in the United States. Females have buffy supercilia and throats. The short hooked beaks and the eyes are brownish black. The breast is reddish with white scalloping and black and white streaks. The upperparts are mottled reddish brown. The crown can be erected as a short crest.


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