Species: Colinus virginianus

POPULATION PARAMETERS: Incurs high annual mortality resulting in a short life span and rapid population turnover (Brennan 1999). Of 1156 birds banded, only one was recovered 5 years after banding (Marsden and Baskett 1958). Oldest known wild bird lived 6 years, 5 months (Marsden 1961); however, most individuals live less than one year (Brennan 1999). Adult females suffer higher mortality than adult males, but the mortality rate of young is not significantly different from adults (Burger et al. 1995a, Pollock et al. 1989). In Missouri, mortality was higher from fall to spring than from spring to fall (Burger et al. 1995a). In North Carolina, winter survivorship and summer population densities were higher in non-hunted areas than hunted areas (Robinette and Doerr 1993). Hunter harvest may be additive to natural mortality (Pollock et al. 1989, Robinette and Doerr 1993, Roseberry and Klimstra 1984), especially during the latter part of the hunting season (L. Brennan, pers. comm.). On average, annual mortality is about 70% and net production is 2.33 juveniles per adult in southern portions of the range; whereas in northern areas, annual mortality is about 80% and net production is approximately 4 juveniles per adult (Guthery 1997). Sex ratios are male biased, possibly due, in part, to greater mortality incurred by adult females (Burger et al. 1995a, Roseberry and Klimstra 1984). <br><br>DENSITY/HOME RANGE: Although densities of 2.2 birds/ha are common on managed areas, densities as high as 6.6-7.6 birds/ha have been observed on private hunting plantations in the southeastern U.S. pinelands and on Texas coastal rangelands, respectively (Brennan 1999). Densities on areas not managed for quail range from 0.14-0.65 birds/ha (Roseberry and Klimstra 1984). Size of home range varies with habitat conditions and reproductive status (Brennan 1999). In Mississippi, home ranges of males ranged from 9.9-282 hectares (Lee 1994 cited in Brennan 1999) and those of females ranged from 11.2-44.1 hectares (Manley 1994 cited in Brennan 1999). In north Florida, home ranges of males and females ranged from 3.4-47.7 hectares (mean = 16.0; DeVos and Mueller 1993). On two study sites in Kansas, female home range size averaged 54 hectares and 75 hectares, whereas male home range size averaged 65 hectares and 103 hectares (Taylor et al. 1999a). In Texas, home ranges of females averaged 0.7 hectares and 1.4 hectares with prefledging and postfledging broods, respectively (Taylor and Guthery 1994). <br><br>AGGREGATIONS: Outside the breeding season Northern Bobwhites are gregarious and form coveys, generally consisting of 10-15 birds. Coveys occupy 3.3-20 hectares of habitat. Birds in a covey roost together overnight in a circle, facing out, as a means of conserving heat (Johnsgard 1973). <br><br>PARASITES: Internal parasites include helminths and nematodes; external parasites include lice, ticks, mites, and fleas. Known diseases include avian pox, ulcerative enteritis, quail bronchitis, and histomoniasis (Brennan 1999). Parasite loads and the number of species of endoparasites infecting quail tends to be higher in areas of relatively high quail densities (Dimmick 1992 cited in Brennan 1999).