Northern Bobwhite
Northern bobwhites are easier to hear than see, due to their whistled "bob-white" call and their excellent camouflage plumage.
About This Species
Northern bobwhites are a game bird found in small, isolated populations in eastern Colorado. Few bobwhites are harvested each year in Colorado due to their limited distribution and declining populations.
Bird Research
Researching Northern Bobwhite
The proliferation of invasive, exotic plants has been repeatedly shown to reduce abundance, survival, and diversity of native plants and animals. Cheatgrass is a non-native, annual grass that rapidly invades disturbed areas and outcompetes native plants to become the dominant species. Areas that have been invaded by cheatgrass offer little heterogeneity in structure or species composition, which many animals, such as northern bobwhites, rely on to satisfy their various resource needs such as food and protective cover, among others. Northern bobwhites are a species of conservation concern in Colorado and require woody cover for resting and protection from predators and harsh weather, areas with forbs and bare ground to produce food and facilitate movement while foraging, and grass for nesting. Cheatgrass outcompetes and suppresses native forbs and bunchgrasses that are used by bobwhites for food and nesting sites.
We will test a cheatgrass herbicide to determine whether it could be a viable habitat management tool for northern bobwhites in northeastern Colorado. Nesting habitat does not seem to be a limiting factor in northeastern Colorado due to the abundance of dense grasses; therefore, our focus is to improve brood-rearing habitat. Furthermore, chick survival is relatively unknown so presenting an estimate of chick survival as well as assessing the effect of habitat use on chick survival would be valuable for identifying population limiting factors. We will monitor bobwhites year-round so if there are impacts of herbicide treatment to other life-stages, we will detect it. This project will provide benefits to management of quail in Colorado by determining if cheatgrass is negatively affecting quail habitat quality, and document whether bobwhites respond positively to the improved vegetation community following cheatgrass removal. We will also estimate bobwhite chick survival, as well as other demographics, that will be used in the future to assess sensitivity of population growth rate to various demographic characteristics.
Altered or eliminated vegetation disturbance has been implicated in the rangewide decline of northern bobwhite populations. Some type of disturbance is required to reduce the vegetation biomass and create some of the open structure on which bobwhites rely. Grazing represents one of the only options for disturbance at Tamarack State Wildlife Area and other similar riparian areas in northeast Colorado. Whereas unmanaged continuous grazing has been linked to degradation of bobwhite habitat quality, short-duration intensive grazing holds promise to reduce the vegetation biomass and rejuvenate the habitat to become more attractive to bobwhites.
The objectives of this project are to assess the efficacy of using short-duration high-intensity grazing as a tool to improve northern bobwhite habitat. We will use a randomized block design in which we divide the study site into groups of four plots, one of which is grazed each year over a three year period and one is a control (Fig. 1). Beginning in late winter each year, we will capture bobwhites using walk-in traps and affix necklace-style VHF radio transmitters on 50 females. We will locate each radio-marked bobwhite three times per week and determine nest sites by observing birds in the same location on subsequent days. When nests hatch we will continue to monitor broods and on day 14 post-hatch we will flush the brood, and weekly thereafter to count chicks and assess brood status. To assess nest and brood site selection, we will sample vegetation at nest and brood sites and paired random points to represent available habitat. The overall goal is to estimate adult, nest, and brood survival as well as nest and brood site selection in relation to grazing treatment and other general habitat characteristics. This study will directly inform management practices on Tamarack State Wildlife Area and potentially other riparian areas in northeastern Colorado and provide some baseline demographic information for use in future population modeling. The results will be applicable to managers wishing to manage vegetation in a way to provide the maximum benefit to northern bobwhites.
Identifying the vital rates to which population growth rate is limited by, or sensitive to, can help guide management actions aimed to affect population size. For bobwhites, some studies have suggested that some populations can be sensitive to adult nonbreeding season survival, especially in northern parts of their range. We have recently completed a research project looking at bobwhite demography during the breeding season but we do not have any information on population characteristics during the nonbreeding season. Therefore, our goals with this project are to estimate survival and assess habitat selection of northern bobwhites during the nonbreeding season. We will also assess whether bobwhites would use artificial structures in areas that seem suitable except for a lack of cover.
This research will contribute to our knowledge of basic quail demographic parameters in Northeastern Colorado and facilitate a future assessment of population sensitivity to various life-stages and demographics. If nonbreeding season survival is found to be low, the habitat selection component of this project could be used to guide future management targeted toward improving nonbreeding bobwhite habitat. Furthermore, if quail are found to use artificial structure in the uplands, it would justify the planting of shrubs to facilitate quail range expansion into the uplands.
More Information:
Physical Characteristics
Body is 8 to 11 inchese long (20-28 cm). Contrasting pale eyebrow and throat, buff on female, white on male. Reddish-brown body, very short tail.
Range
Sparce populations in eastern Colorado.
Habitat
Northern bobwhites require areas of thicker grass cover for nesting within close proximity to more open areas with bare ground and abundant food producing forbs for brood rearing and feeding.
Diet
Feeds in groups, called coveys, and diet includes seeds, leaves, insects. Diet varies with season and place. Eats many seeds (especially those of legumes), also leaves, buds, berries, acorns, roots, insects, spiders, and snails. May eat mostly seeds in winter, with more insects eaten in summer. Young birds may eat mostly insects at first.
Reproduction
Polyamorous, with both males and females having multiple mates. 12 to 16 young per season. White to pale buff. Incubation is by both sexes, 23-24 days.
Additional Information
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