289. Colinus virginianus (Linn.). Bob-white; American Quail; Virginia Partridge.
Plumage of adult male: above reddish brown; interscapulars with more or less broken bars; inner vein of tertials margined with buff; rump grayish brown with blackish mottlings and streaks; front of head, band from bill under eye, patch on upper breast black; line from bill over eye, throat, lower breast and belly white, the two latter barred with black; sides chestnut with black and white margins to feathers; tail ashy, mottled with buffy. Plumage of adult female: forehead, throat, lores and line over the eye pale ochraceous; black of upper breast wanting or much restricted. Immature plumage: top of head dull grayish; rest of head dirty whitish; breast brownish gray streaked with whitish; belly white; back rusty brown with whitish streaks and dark spots. Wing 4.25 to 4.75; culmen 0.60; tarsus 1.35.
Geog. Dist.—Eastern United States and southern Ontario, from southernMaine to the South Atlantic and Gulf States; west to central South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas; of late years gradually extending its range westward along the railroads; introduced in various places in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, California, Oregon and Washington ; resident throughout its range.
County Records.—Androscoggin; rare, (Johnson). Cumberland; occasional, (Brock); one in fall of 1901, (Lord); a number seen on Cliff Island, Casco Bay, in spring of 1899, these being introduced by Mr. McKenney of Philadelphia, (Swain, J. M. O. S. 1904, p. 64) ; one seen repeatedly in pasture in rear of my house in July, 1897, (Mead). Franklin; very rare, not seen since 1890, only two seen then, (Swain). Oxford; one was seen several times near East Hebron in the summer of 18%, being observed both on the Oxford and Androscoggin side of the line, (Johnson). Penobscot; some birds were let loose near Hermon in 1894 by George Abbott and these have been reported as breeding for several seasons, but finally when not tended through the winter they all perished, (Knight). Waldo; Dr. Soule saw a male in Unity in September, 1899, (J. M. O. S. 1902, p. 18). York; in June and July, 1897, one stopped back of the house, and in October one of the boys came to the house and reported that he had flushed a covey in a neighboring field a short time before, (H. P. Libby, Eliot); a number were reported as found dead near Kennebunk in the winter of 1904, (J. M. O. S. 1904, p. 63).
As a bird of Maine the Bob-white is practically confined to the southwestern part of the State, and it seems quite likely that disregarding introduced individuals and their descendants the species is properly native only in the very extreme southwestern corner of the State.
In spring and summer the male mounts to the top of some convenient fence, stone wall, bush or rarely tree and repeatedly calls "bob-white, bob-white" in a clear whistled tone. This call is often varied by certain individuals who say" bob-bobwhite" or more rarely "bob-bob-bob-white" while sometimes the call is curtailed to a mere "white" or "whit".
Stella
Have a bobwhite calling under my window now. He has been in the yard all afternoon. I guess an escapee. But here is what a neighbor says:--"Years ago we had a pair here.. they actually do fine here, my dad said they were all over when he was growing up in Union. I'm not sure why the bird books don't show them as native... I put cracked corn out all the time, and I heard one calling out back in the field this afternoon!!"hmmmm... what gives? Quail farms years ago in Union?
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<northern bobwhite in yard June 7.jpg>
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