>> in the central and southernunited states is a region rich in woodlands,fields and running streams, in folklore and traditions. hunting is oneof the oldest traditions and high on the list of sportinggame is a bird that has become a traditionitself: the bobwhite quail. it's spring, may apples thrustgreen umbrellas above the warming groundand bobwhite's covey, released from winter hardshipenjoys the sunshine of a balmy day.
this six to seven ounce birdis our native bobwhite quail, woods quail, top knot quail,dutch quail. these are but fanciful namesfor the one species we have in the central partof the range. head and throat markingsdistinguish the cock from the hen. the eye line and throat patchare white on the cock, buff colored on the hen. the deep leaf littershelters seeds and insects available for the scratching.
in spring quail foodis at the year's low. burning would have destroyedthis feeding ground for bobwhite. the birds enjoy loafing in the warm sun. spring flowers, likethe nodding dutchman's breeches and purple trilliummark april's swift advance. frequent dust baths clean theplumage and help control parasites. note how the hen blends perfectlyinto the mottled background. constant alertness is the priceof survival in bobwhite's world. rustling leaves startle the birdsuntil they see it's just a box turtle.
he's a harmless part of the communityso the birds relax again. the bickering of hensmarks the season's unrest, a sign of the covey breakupsoon to come. cocks are becoming irritable tooand challenge one another. (bobwhite sounds) fighting is a sign of thedevelopment of rivalry for mates; now it's mostly talk. the hen, the object of it all,seems unaware of any trouble. this male sensing a movementabove glances up
and sees only a harmless creature,a baltimore oriel. (bobwhite call) reassured, the cock returnsto his intended purpose, to utter his familiar call. a female hears,but seems indifferent. and not to be outdone,the cock stretches lazily. the first thing isto show her who's boss, a little strutting and peckingfail to intimidate the hen. the male assumes the initiativein final mate selection.
while the hen, true to her sex,does not betray her emotions. courting with playful pursuitsand strutting plumage displays becomes more intenseas spring advances. such displays remind us ofthe antics of the turkey gobbler and the prairie chicken. the hen is still unimpressed. so the male, not discouraged,woos her more ardently. (bobwhite call) a nearby bachelor challengesthe possession of the female.
ignoring the challenge the original suitorcontinues his courting efforts. now the rival male appears onthe scene and attacks the hen's suitor. in mating fervor bobwhitesbecome quite belligerent. fights like this,shown here in slow motion, are seldom seen by man. fighting may be severe, but birdsare seldom killed or even badly hurt. once paired cockand hen stay together, making their own dust bathwith bills and feet.
they roost together, away fromthe covey for the first time. by late april,when wild mustard blooms, the coveys are completely broken up. the business of matingand nest building has begun. our female has completed her nestat the base of a clump of tall grass. she lays an egg nearly every day,sometimes skips. it takes from two to three weeksto complete a clutch. many quail nest in field border cover. farming activities nearby do notseem to disturb the birds.
but the grass and weedsdon't seem as attractive to some farmers as they do to quail. to this farmer,the border would look better if cleaned of weeds and grass. to the hen, the weedsand grass are protection. but cover that offersshelter from predators cannot withstandthe flair of a match. fed by last year's accumulationof dried vegetation, the fire spreads fast.
as smoke gets into his eyes,this young box turtle is confused. the hen remains on her nestuntil the fire sweeps across it. the flames and drifting smoke spell destructionto many kinds of wildlife. burning is one of the many farmactivities that destroy quail nests. cover and food are fire's chief toll, but the scorched massof quail eggs and the remainsof this young rabbit show that life toomay be destroyed.
the quail pair,with their first nest destroyed, must find a new home. the hen picks this fencerowfor her second nest. narrow strips of coversometimes attract quail when nothing better is available,but they are far from safe. by plowing so close to the fencethe farmer may gain a couple of rows of corn butlose the benefits of a wildlife crop. narrow fencerowsare travel lanes for predators. our hen's second nest is broken up.
the skunk had no trouble findingthe nest a few inches from his path. in good cover the skunk is nota serious predator on quail. here, he could hardly miss the nest. re-nesting is commonin the quail world. our hen will try again. a multiflora rose fence with itsborders covers a strip ten feet wide. the uniformity of its fine coveraffords good protection. the hen builds her third nestunder its thorny shelter. by the time the roses stop blooming
the long task of incubationhas begun. the embryo's heartafter 2.5 days of incubation can be seen beatingin the web of blood vessels. at twelve days the eyeof the chick is well developed. after 17 days the feathers show. the body outline is clearly seen. after 21 days the chickstarts to pip the egg. by the 23rd day the large endis completely chipped around. the end is pushed backlike a trap door on a hinge
and the struggling wet ball emerges. note the white egg toothon top of the beak with which the bird chipped the shell. a few hours after hatchingbegins the nest seethes with life. the chicks are very livelyas soon as dry. an early instinct is to feed,and the major job of the hen after drying the chicksis to find them food. (chick sounds) the cock, who has beenon sentry duty during incubation,
comes in to help. the parent birds seem anxiousto leave the vicinity of the nest where they have been pinned downfor three weeks. they take advantage of all cover,hurry throughout open spots. from now on they will bea moving unit as the chicks get their training in food gettingand danger avoiding. summer is the seasonof production and growth on the farm and in the wild. mating and hatching,flowering and fruiting,
feeding and growing is the orderof the summer days. other animals are havingtheir little troubles too. this tree bat nourishes her young while suspended upside downin her leafy nursery. in a nearby slough a catfishguards eggs lying in the hollow log nestlike quart of spilled pearls. at intervals she aerates the eggs,fans them free from silt. in the plowed field the killdeer'snest shows one exception to the rulethat wildlife needs cover.
the color of the eggsand of the bird blends perfectly into the backgroundand this is cover enough. the same is true of the tree toad, doing his best to look likea milkweed leaf. the cock, with partof the three day old brood, has taken to the cornfield. rising clouds foreshadowa sudden summer storm. the disked dirt of the cornfieldis a fine place to scratch for last year's seeds and smallinsects of early summer.
it's a fine placefor frequent dust baths too. when the cock finds a choice bit,he calls the chicks in to share it. (thunder) as the first drops of rainspatter in the dust, the cock leads his littlecharges into better cover. one chick, slower to respond,straggles behind. that's fatal for he losesthe disappearing covey. the rain beats down harder. bewildered, the lost chickstands helpless in the rain.
>> further into the cornfieldthe cock broods the chicks safely against the wet and cold. somewhere, back in the grass, the hen is doing the samewith the rest of the brood. this is just one exampleof what happens to chicks not alert enoughto stay with their parents. as the rainbow marks the endof the brief storm, we are reminded that in the wildthe penalty of heedlessness is death. the quail family rangesover a rather small area.
the trumpet vinewith its tangle of cover is a favorite dusting placefor this family. at 7 days of age, the chicksshow little plumage change. quail need moisture, and dewon vegetation is one common source, even the chicks are adept at sipping dew drops from flowers and leaves. when dew fails, other sources of water are important. a pond for instancewith plenty of cover around it provides a safe watering place year round.
notice the different sizesof young birds. the pair has accepted chicks from other broodswhich have lost their parents. a close look will show three agegroups: the pair's own ten day olds, a larger three week old chick,and several smaller ones. such incidents give rise to the idea that a pair will raisetwo or more broods in a summer. this is not true. quail raise only one brood, butwill care for strays from others.
a pond shore is a good placeto find insects. insects are rich in protein and protein is a majorrequirement for growing chicks. the parents catch and subduethe larger insects for the chicks. insects supply moisture too. the little fellows tackleanything they can handle. among the insects eaten by quailare many that destroy foliage and damage crops. blackberries arean important part of the habitat.
the vines furnish year round cover,the berries food and water. on the farm harvest continueswith oat cutting. the business of feeding, learning, and growingoccupies all the wild creatures. the cock and hen are never far apart. here by the trumpet vine they feedand loaf with their family. at three weeks of age the down of the chicks is being replacedwith juvenile feathers. in the foreground
the runt of the flock showspoor feather development. an osage orange hedgenext to corn is good protection and the quail family feedsclose to its thorny cover. at five weeks of age the birdsare beginning to feather out and resemble the parents. other creatures sometimes use osage orange for cover too. this cooper's hawk perched inthe concealment of the hedge intently watches the birds feed, waiting for oneto stray out in the open.
one does stray, as usualthe backward one of the brood. this is what the hawk has been waiting for. (chick distress sounds) this is one of the many typesof natural mortality constantly whittling downthe number of chicks. while cooper's and sharp-shinnedhawks sometimes take quail, they usually catch the slower,weaker, or more stupid of the brood. other hawks are too slow andclumsy to catch a healthy quail. it is the strongest and most alert birds
that survive for gameand breeding stock. summer fades into early fall,brightening colors and ripening fruits point up the last surge of production and the beginningof autumn's rich abundance. dogwood berries are ruby ripe, bittersweet awaits the finishing touch of frost. through nature's magicsummer flowers have been changed intothe seeds for life's renewal. in plant life, as in human life,maturity has a beauty all its own.
the groundhog stores up fatfor winter's long sleep. migrant monarch butterflies feeddeeply on summer's last blossoms before the long trip south. in the summer breeding groundsfar to the north, wild geese strengthen their wingsin trial flights. on the farm, shucked corn and annual weedsare ready for bobwhite's taking. the cornfield is a wonderfulplace for quail to feed. foxtail and other annuals now,corn for later in the year.
in late winter, wild seeds may become scarce, then corn is very important. the thoughtful farmer wholeaves a little corn in the field for the birds' winter use can besure it will be a real help in pulling them through the spring. sometimes in crop rotation,wheat follows corn and the fine food combination pictured here is not available. at 14 weeks the young still havesome pin feathers on the head, but the white throat patchof the cock shows distinct
from the buff ofthe hen's throat and head. the birds wander widely nowin search for tidbits. with maturity they have developeda strong covey sense. when one findsespecially attractive food the others gather roundto share it. they now act togetheras a covey unit. sensing a movement overhead,the birds become alarmed. (bobwhite alert call) it's a harmless buzzard,
but the attack by the cooper'shawk some weeks before has made them waryof large birds in the sky. with a common impulse the coveytakes refuge in the corn shuck. the innocent cause of it allsoars on, indifferent to the alarm. the birds quickly realizethe buzzard is harmless. had this really beena cooper's hawk, the covey might have remainedunder shelter all day. in the large varietyof seeds eaten by quail about a dozen supplymost of their winter diet.
besides cornthere is korean lespedeza. here's an extreme close-up,a quail's eye view: sorghum cane, a cultivated food; foxtail, common byproductof cultivation; little ragweed,sneeze weed some call it; giant ragweed or horse weed here readily identifiedby its three lobed leaf; the meat of acorns, beggar's tick, a wild legume;
sumac, the seed heads,high on stout stems, are available even in deep snow; croton, common pasture weed. grasshoppers are the insectmost commonly eaten. late fall marks the season's changeand in a mad blaze of color. falling leaves reduceoverhead protective cover. if not burned the leaves protectseeds and other foods on the ground where quail forage. even so, food and cover
can support just so many quailthrough the winter, fewer than are annually produced. this surplus may be harvestedwithout harm to the stock. now the quail coveys are movingabout the countryside in what is called the fall shuffle, a mixing of birdsamong different broods. other mixing devicesare the covey breakup and forming of pairs in spring, adoption of the lost chicksin summer,
and the coming togetherof covey remnants in winter. in the fall quail spend much timein the woods. here the ground is fairly open for easy feeding. enough leaves remainfor overhead protection. now, nestingand production are over. nature's store house is full, and for a little time existenceis easier, but not for long. soon the hunting season and thehazards of winter will approach. at sunset the birds utterthe coveying call,
which means roosting time. when roosting the birds drawtogether in a tail to tail, heads out circlethat ensures warmth and a lookout in every direction. the period of growthand training is over. the unfit have been weeded out. the survivorsare alert and vigorous, fit to uphold the traditionof this favored game bird in the quail range.
opportunities for huntingon farmlands are dependent on cordial relationswith the land owner. these friendly relationsare developed only when huntersshow farmers every consideration. a sportsman never fails toask permission before hunting. good dogs are a practical aid and a well-trained oneheads for likely cover. katie, a pointer, takes off fastand range widely. bo, the setter, works more slowly,closer to the hunters.
some sportsmen favor the pointer,others prefer setters. both have their points.together they make a fine team. the dogs locate quail by scent. katie works over this patchof cover thoroughly. fence rows affordgood protection for quail. after the early morning feeding, quail retire to good coverto loaf and dust. alarmed, they headfor still denser cover. katie has caught the scentof the running birds
following it to where the birdshave stopped she comes to a point. bo stops frozen in mid-strideto honor katie's find. now the birds are pinned down,the rest is up to the hunter. (gunshots) this one's wing tipped. (gunshots) it's the dog's jobto find and retrieve. here's where the use ofa good dog is conservation. birds that might be lost to human eyesare located by the dog's keen nose.
now it's bo's turn. a perfect retrieve is a joy to watch. and the first bird of huntis always a bird to admire. after the covey is scattered,the hunters go after a few singles. the first single is found. (gunshot) some of the birds have headedinto the sumac by the new pond. this brushy fence row withstanding and cut down trees will give protection againstpredators and winter weather.
katie locates the second singleat the base of the new pond dam. (gunshot) by the time the hunter reloadsthe pointer has another find. could katie be wrong? the hunters think so,but katie doesn't. the dog is right. the wise sportsman takes onlya few birds from each covey leaving plentyto ensure breeding stock. this tall growth right next tothe timber is sericea lespedeza.
growing well on poor soilwhich it enriches, sericea furnishs good ground coverand emergency food for quail. this shorter, darker growthis korean lespedeza, a good farm forage cropand a commonly used quail food. that's a small covey,lets skip the singles. a mixture of cover and foodwell distributed in waste areas between crop landsprovides ideal quail habitat. in good covera tenth acre food patch with a variety of cultivated grains,legumes, and wild annuals
furnishes food throughoutthe winter for a covey or two. bo locates the coveythat uses this food patch and katie comes inon a nice bit of teamwork. clean misses are a part of the game. katie picks up a downed bird and bo comes straight acrossthe food patch to deliver another. hunting's been fine,but a rest period is welcomed. these interested huntersexamine their birds closely. the proportionof young to adults
indicates the successof the summer's hatch. it's easy to tell youngfrom old birds. the light colored tips ofthe primary wing covers mark a young bird hatched this year. on the adults tips of the primarywing covers are almost uniformly dark. in the fall quail crop adults arefar outnumbered by the young. the season's kill normally runfour young to one adult. time to move on. a farm as well developed for quailas this one has more coveys to find.
all idle areas are in cover,showing that this farmer realizes the value of protectingland that would otherwise erode. in such habitat quail thrive,providing plenty of birds for safe harvest while still leavingan adequate breeding stock. as the day goes on eventsseem to run together in a series of points and covey rises,misses and clean kills. memory retains only the highlightsthat constitute the lure that draws men with gun and dogsinto the quail ranges year after year to hunt and shoot,or just to watch the dogs.
as shadows lengthenthe dogs are still going strong. bo winds up the day and the seasonin a last magnificent point. as the season draws to a close,heavy gray clouds foreshadow the closing down of winter with its new problems of weatherand other hardships. snow storms are oneof the hazards of winter, although they affect quailless than we used to believe. most snow storms in the mainquail range are short duration. in good cover quailfind ample refuge.
where cover is absent as here,of course the story is different. some of the birds get restless. now they require abundantgood food to maintain body heat. they wander outof the shelter for short trips, but as long as it is snowingthey do not go far. by the time the snow stopsfalling it is late in the day. night is coming on. in the dim winter twilight the birds attempt to feedbefore going to roost.
seldom do they hole upthroughout stormy periods. quail need foodand they forage for it or become weakenedand/or lost. corn is one of the most importantenergy producing winter foods. ears of corn left in the fieldafter harvest either as waste or deliberately for wildlifeare heavily used by quail. one bird appears sick. even under good conditionsa quail's life is very short. most breeding pairs in any springwere raised only the summer before.
a bird that escapes predators,starvation, and accident still must face old agefrom which there is no escape. if there were no predatorsor harvest, quail would still dieat a rapid rate. the many young raised each yearkeep populations going and provide most of the harvest. this bird did not survivethe snow storm. with a good feedof corn tucked away, the birds can roostsafely from the cold.
ice storms are a more severehazard than snow storms. ice covers food on the ground and on the plantswith impervious armor. yet quail must feed, so they step out to foragein the glitter of an icy dawn. birds must be vigorousand in good health to survive a situation like this. even standing foodlike coralberry or buck brush is covered with ice.
so is multiflora rose,but it still offers shelter and some foodin the leaves and litter. the rose berries, ice coated now, will be availablewhen the thaw comes. not finding much foodthe birds head out for the open. a fox is abroad,looking for food too. his normal supply of miceand berries is cutoff by the snow and ice. only when quail are unusuallyexposed in their search for food
is the red fox a menace to them. good cover plus plenty of foodis the best protection for birds. scattered feathers and the marksof a scuffle in the snow show that hungry birdsin poor cover can be surprised. from fall through winter quailnumbers are gradually reduced by natural mortality untilby spring only a few are left. this loss is remarkably constantwhether there is hunting or not. this explains whyreasonable hunting does not harmthe quail population.
it also explains why the huntingseason is set early in the fall so that as much as possibleof this natural mortality can be salvaged for human use. winter, with its ice and snows,eventually gives way to spring. the birds can range more widelynow to forage for food in the litter of fieldand woodland floor. these few birds are what is leftof the large fall covey. no more would have survivedeven had there been no hunting for this is allthe winter habitat could support.
these are plenty though to restorethe population for next fall. once on its way,spring comes swiftly. the green hood of the may applepushes through the sun-warmed soil. the elm twigsare festooned with buds. later, the redbud blossoms. box elder hangs out its flowers. dutchman's breechesnod in the balmy breeze. catkins decorating the branchesof the cottonwood. a woodcock on her nestdemonstrates nature's camouflage.
a spring peeper callsfrom the roadside ditch. (frog sounds) the toad heralds the spring. (frog chirping) on the wide uplands,the prairie chicken struts and booms his mating call. (prairie chicken sounds) and from the woodland edge, the bobwhite quailsends the clearest call of all.
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