Northern Bobwhite Quail

Northern Bobwhite Quail

Colinus Virginianus

Eats

They eat mostly seeds and leaves, supplemented with varying amounts of insects during the breeding season.

Lives

Bobwhites are year-round residents of southeastern North America. They live in agricultural fields, grasslands, open pine or pine-hardwood forests, and grass-brush rangelands.

Behavior

They forage in groups, scurrying between cover or bursting into flight if alarmed.

Description

Their feathers offer excellent camouflage so they are hard to spot. They are intricately patterned in brown, tan, rust, and black. Males have a black-and-white head pattern. Females have a tan throat and eyebrows.

Did you Know?

Mill Mountain Zoo is home to many animals who wouldn't survive being released into the wild or are at risk of extinction.

How can I Help?

The biggest threats to the Northern Bobwhite Quails are habitat loss and changes in agriculture destroying their chances of becoming urbanized (meaning being able to live in populated areas). There has been a sharp decline in their population throughout the past 50 years. Creating nesting habitat by planting mixtures of native grasses in fields and keeping it from becoming a forested area, is a huge help to this species.

Least Concern
Least Concern
Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Vulnerable
Vulnerable
Endangered
Endangered
Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild
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