Northern Bobwhite - Summertime on the Shoreline
A bird a day keeps the chaos away
Northern Bobwhite
NORBOB
Colinus virginianus
ORDER: Galliformes
FAMILY: Odontophoridae
Southwest Florida Coast, summer birds edition
Small and rotund with intricate brown, black, and white patterning. Some striking variation in plumage across range. Most males, including those in the eastern U.S., have bold black and white head pattern and heavy white spotting on belly. In Mexico, males can be entirely cinnamon-colored below and have a fully black head; some might have a white eyebrow or a dark chest band. Females are more consistent throughout range: look for buffy throat and eyebrow. Pairs or small groups are found in scrubby fields and brushy woods. Usually on the ground, but occasionally perches in trees when singing. The only quail native to the eastern U.S., where populations are declining sharply. Listen for distinctive “bob-WHITE!” whistle.
For more information about identifying birds, we suggest the following websites:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
If you enjoyed this post, would you kindly HEART, RESTACK or SUBSCRIBE? Interaction with our posts helps boost the algorithm so we’re more visible. Your support allows us to show more beauty to the world through the love of birds.
The daily Birdstack will always be free. If you would like to support us in a small way, a good oat milk latte goes a long way toward warming this editor’s heart. We see your pledges and they always bring joy, but monetization was never an intended goal - it was always to share our stockpile of photography with you. Otherwise, hours and hours of field work and grubbing around to get the perfect shot would be trapped in our hard drives. That seems a waste, eh?
Lovely bird!