Northern bobwhite
Northern bobwhite Temporal range:
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Adult male | |
Adult female | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Odontophoridae |
Genus: | Colinus |
Species: | C. virginianus
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Binomial name | |
Colinus virginianus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Subspecies | |
23; see text | |
Synonyms | |
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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.[4] This population decline is apparently range-wide and continuing.[5][6]
There are 20
Taxonomy and systematics
Subspecies
There are 20 recognized subspecies in four groups. One subspecies, the Key West bobwhite (C. v. insulanus), is extinct. The subspecies are listed in taxonomic order:[7][8]
- Eastern group
- C. v. virginianus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Virginia bobwhite - eastern North America from Ontario south to northern Florida (includes former subspecies marilandicus and mexicanus)
- C. v. floridanus (Coues, 1872) - Florida bobwhite - peninsular Florida
- †C. v. insulanus (Howe, 1904) - Key West bobwhite - the Florida Keys (extinct)
- C. v. cubanensis (Turks and Caicosislands
- C. v. taylori (Lincoln, 1915) - plains bobwhite - South Dakota to northern Texas, western Missouri and northwestern Arkansas
- C. v. texanus (Lawrence, 1853) - Texas bobwhite - southwestern Texas to northern Mexico
- C. v. aridus (Lawrence, 1853) - Jaumave bobwhite - west-central Tamaulipas to southeastern San Luis Potosí
- C. v. maculatus (Nelson, 1899) - spot-bellied bobwhite - central Tamaulipas to northern Veracruz and southeastern San Luis Potosí
- Grayson's group
- C. v. graysoni (Lawrence, 1867) - Grayson's bobwhite - west-central Mexico
- C. v. nigripectus (Nelson, 1897) - Puebla bobwhite - eastern Mexico
- Black-breasted group
- C. v. pectoralis (Gould, 1843) - black-breasted bobwhite - eastern slopes and mountains of central Veracruz
- C. v. godmani (Nelson, 1897) - Godman's bobwhite - eastern slopes and mountains of central Veracruz
- C. v. minor (Nelson, 1901) - least bobwhite - northeastern Chiapas and Tabasco
- C. v. thayeri (Peters, 1928) - Thayer's bobwhite - northeastern Oaxaca
- Masked group
- C. v. ridgwayi (Brewster, 1885) - masked bobwhite - north-central Sonora; reintroduced to Arizona
- C. v. atriceps (Ogilvie-Grant, 1893) - black-headed bobwhite - interior of western Oaxaca
- C. v. harrisoni (Orr and Webster, 1968) - Harrison's bobwhite - southwestern Oaxaca
- C. v. coyoleos (Müller, PLS, 1776) - Coyoleos bobwhite - Pacific Coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas
- C. v. salvini (Nelson, 1897) - Salvin's bobwhite - coastal and southern Chiapas
- C. v. insignis (Nelson, 1897) - Guatemalan bobwhite - Guatemala (Rio Chiapas Valley) and southeastern Chiapas (includes former subspecies nelsoni)
The
Description
C. virginianus is a moderately-sized
Distribution and habitat
The northern bobwhite can be found year-round in agricultural fields, grassland, open woodland areas, roadsides and wood edges. Its range covers the southeastern quadrant of the
It is absent from the southern tip of
There is no self-sustaining population in
Vocalizations
The clear whistle "bob-WHITE" or "bob-bob-WHITE" call is very recognizable. The syllables are slow and widely spaced, rising in pitch a full octave from beginning to end. Other calls include lisps, peeps, and more rapidly whistled warning calls.
Behavior and ecology
Like most game birds, the northern bobwhite is shy and elusive. When threatened, it will crouch and freeze, relying on camouflage to stay undetected, but will flush into low flight if closely disturbed. It is generally solitary or paired early in the year, but family groups are common in the late summer and winter roosts may have two dozen or more birds in a single covey.[17]
Breeding
The species was once considered monogamous, but with the advent of radio telemetry, the sexual behavior of bobwhites has better been described as ambisexual polygamy.[18] Either parent may incubate a clutch for 23 days, and the precocial young leave the nest shortly after hatching. The main source of nest failure is predation, with nest success averaging 28% across their range.[19] However, the nest success of stable populations is typically much higher than this average, and the aforementioned estimate includes values for declining populations.
Brooding behavior varies in that amalgamation (kidnapping, adopting, creching, gang brooding) may occur.[20][21] An incubating parent may alternatively stay with its young. A hen may re-nest up to four times until she has a successful nest. However, it is extremely rare for bobwhites to hatch more than two successful nests within one nesting season.[22]
Food and feeding
The northern bobwhite's diet consists of plant material and small invertebrates, such as
Optimal nutrient requirements for bobwhite vary depending on the age of bird and the time of the year. For example, the optimal protein requirement for egg laying hens (23% protein) is much higher than for males (16%).[25][26]
Relationship to humans
Introduced populations
European Union
Northern bobwhite were introduced into Italy in 1927,[27] and are reported in the plains and hills in the northwest of the country. Other reports from the EU are in France, Spain, and the Balkans As bobwhites are highly productive and popular aviary subjects, it is reasonable to expect other introductions have been made in other parts of the EU, especially in the U.K. and Ireland, where game-bird breeding, liberation, and naturalization are relatively common practices.[28]
New Zealand
From 1898[29] to 1902, some 1,300 birds were imported from America and released in many parts of the North and South Islands,[30] from Northland to Southland. The bird was briefly on the Nelson game shooting licence, but: "It would seem that the committee was a little too eager in placing these Quail on the licence, or the shooters of the day were over-zealous and greedy in their bag limits, for the Virginian Quail, like the Mountain Quail were soon a thing of the past."[31] The Taranaki (Acclimatisation) Society released a few in 1900 and was confidant that in a year or two they might offer good sport; two years later, broods were reported and the species was said to be steadily increasing; but after another two years they seemed to have disappeared and that was the end of them. The Otago (Acclimatisation) Society imported more in 1948,[32] but these releases did no good.[33][34] After 1923, no more genuinely wild birds were sighted until 1952, when a small population was found northwest of Wairoa in the Ruapapa Road area. Since then, bobwhite have been found at several localities around Waikaremoana, in farmland, open bush and along roadsides.[30]
More birds have been imported into New Zealand by private individuals since the 1990s and a healthy captive population is now held by backyard aviculturists and have been found to be easily cared for and bred and are popular for their song and good looks. A larger proportion of the national captive population belong to a few game preserves and game bird breeders. Though the birds would be self-sustaining in the wild if they were protected; it is tricky to guess what the effect of an annual population subsidy and hunting has on any of the original populations from the Acclimatisation Society releases.
An
Captivity
Housing
Bobwhites are generally compatible with most
Feeding
In the wild the northern bobwhite feeds on a variety of weed and grass seeds, as well as insects. These are generally collected on the ground or from low foliage. Birds in the aviary are easily catered for with a commercial small seed mix (finch, budgerigar, or small parrot mix) when supplemented with greenfeed. Live food is not usually necessary for breeding, but will be ravenously accepted. High protein foods such as chicken grower crumble are more convenient to supply and will be useful for the stimulation of breeding birds. Extra calcium is required, especially by laying hens; it can be supplied in the form of shell grit, or cuttlefish bone.[36]
Breeding
If a nesting site and privacy are not provided, hens will lay anywhere within an open aviary. Hens that do this may, in a season, lay upwards of 80 eggs, which can be taken for artificial incubation and the chicks hand-raised. Hens with nesting cover that do make a nest (on the ground) will build up 8–25 eggs in a clutch, with eggs being laid daily.[37]
Mutations and hybrids
Some captive bobwhite hybrids recorded are between blue quail (scaled quail),[38] Gambel's quail, California quail, and mountain quail. It has long been suggested that there are Japanese quail hybrids being bred commercially; however, there is a distinct lack of photographic proof to substantiate this. Inter-subspecific hybrids have been common.
Several mutations have long been established, including Californian Jumbo, Wisconsin Jumbo, Northern Giant, Albino, Snowflake, Blonde, Fawn, Barred, Silver, and Red.
Status
The northern bobwhite is rated as a Near-threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[39] The northern bobwhite is threatened across its range due to habitat loss and habitat degradation. Changing land use patterns and changing fire regimes have caused once prime habitat to become unfavorable for the bobwhite.
Masked bobwhite
The masked bobwhite subspecies, C. v. ridgwayi, is listed as endangered in the U.S. The birds were twice declared extirpated in Arizona in the past century. It was originally endemic to southern Arizona in the U.S., and northern Sonora in Mexico. It is considered a Critically Imperiled Subspecies by NatureServe.[40]
The masked bobwhite was in decline since its discovery in 1884. By 1900, the subspecies was already extinct in the U.S. Populations remained in Mexico, but their study was curtailed by political events in Mexico, including the Mexican Revolution and the last of the Yaqui Wars. A population of the masked bobwhite was finally discovered and studied in Mexico, in 1931 and 1932.[41]
A native population historically existed in Sonora, but by 2017, its population appeared to be declining, or possibly extinct.[41] A 2017 study recorded no wild sightings of the bird in Sonora.[42] Decline of the species has been attributed to intense livestock grazing in an ecosystem that does not rejuvenate quickly.
A captive flock was established in Arizona in the 1970s. The George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center (Sutton Center) became involved with conservation efforts in 2017 to establish a breeding population at the Sutton Center in Oklahoma, in order to reintroduce birds to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR).[43] In 2019, biologists from the Sutton Center transported 1,000 chicks by road vehicle to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. In 2020, a projected total of 1,200 birds will be transported by airplanes to BANWR.[44] These recent actions are supplemental, and in addition to other conservation efforts in the past, seem to aid the subspecies' future conservation efforts.[45][46]
In popular culture
In 2023, the masked bobwhite subspecies will be featured on a
See also
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2021). "Colinus virginianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22728956A178045540. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ a b "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Northern Bobwhite". World Bird Info. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Northern Bobwhite". Cornell University. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "The 116th Christmas Bird Count Summary". National Audubon Society. 21 November 2016. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ "BBS Trend Maps - Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus". Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ "Megapodes, guans, guineafowl, New World quail – IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- .
- ISBN 978-0691089089.
- ^ Nelson, A. L. and A. C. Martin. 1953. Gamebird weights. J. Wildl. Manage. 17:36-42.
- ^ Aldrich, J. W. 1946. The United States races of the bob-white. The Auk 63:493-508.
- ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Colinus virginianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. October 2016.
- ^ "Northern Bobwhite Quail".
- ^ "Official New Hampshire State Bird List". New Hampshire Audubon. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Gallo, Frank (18 June 2021). "Checklist of the Birds of Connecticut". Connecticut Ornithological Association. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Species Assessment for Northern bobwhite" (PDF). New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 1 November 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ National Audubon Society (n.d.). "Northern bobwhite: Colonus virginialis". www.audubon.org. National Audubon Society. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ISBN 9781603444750.
- ^ Rollins, D; Carroll, JP (2001). "Impacts of Predation on Northern Bobwhite and Scaled Quail". Journal of Wildlife Management. 29: 39–51.
- S2CID 53983235.
- S2CID 86453173.
- ^ Sisson, DC (2017). "TRIPLE BROOD PRODUCTION BY NORTHERN BOBWHITES". National Quail Symposium. 8: 238.
- .
- ^ "Northern Bobwhite" (PDF). Wildlife Habitat Council. September 1999. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- JSTOR 3795628.
- JSTOR 3800031.
- ^ Ghigi, 1968
- ^ "Bobwhite Quail".[permanent dead link]
- ^ Ayson, L.F. 1899:1.
- ^ a b K.E. Westerskov, MSc, PhD. Complete Book of New Zealand Birds
- ^ Ann.Rep. Nelson Acclimatisation Society, 1968:38
- ^ Ann. Rep. Otago Acclimatisation Society, 1948
- ^ Ann. Rep. North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, 1954:21
- ^ Gamekeepers for the Nation, 1994, R.M. McDowell
- ^ J.J. Holland
- ISBN 978-0-7020-2874-8.
- ^ The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Northern Bobwhite". All About Birds.org. Cornell University. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- JSTOR 4081671.
- ^ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ ISSN 2573-5667.
- ISSN 2573-5667.
- ^ "Masked Bobwhite – Sutton Center". suttoncenter.org. George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Bostian, Kelly (19 July 2020). "Tiny birds, big wings - volunteer flights helping to prop up endangered quail population". Tulsaworld.com. Tulsa World. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ "Masked Bobwhite | 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation" (PDF). US Fish and Wildlife Service. March 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
- ISSN 1098-2361.
- ^ "Postal Service Spotlights Endangered Species". United States Postal Service. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
External links
- Northern Bobwhite at BirdWeb (seattleaudubon.org) Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Northern Bobwhite info at About.com
- National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative
- "Northern Bobwhite media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Northern Bobwhite photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Colinus virginianus at IUCN Red List maps