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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | 5800000 |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Near Threatened |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
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Habitat:
The species inhabits early successional vegetation in a variety of habitats, created by disturbances from fire, agriculture and timber-harvesting (Brennan et al. 2020). It is often found in agricultural landscapes, grasslands, open forests and brush land (Brennan et al. 2020). It feeds principally on seeds, but insects form an important component of the diet in summer (del Hoyo et al. 1994). It forms coveys of 8-20 individuals occupying a home range of approximately 10 ha.
Range:
Colinus virginianus is resident throughout east North America (from south Mexico and west Guatemala through the USA to extreme southern Canada) (del Hoyo et al. 1994; Brennan et al. 2020). Populations of subspecies cubanensis on Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud (Cuba) may be natural, but many introduced populations exist across the world (del Hoyo et al. 1994; Madge and McGowan 2002; Brennan et al. 2020).
Conservation:
Conservation Actions Underway
Subspecies ridgwayi is on CITES Appendix I (del Hoyo et al. 1994). The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative coordinates habitat restoration programmes throughout most range states in the USA. Small-scale reintroduction and translocation of individuals have been carried out in recent decades to varying degrees of success (Terhune et al. 2010; Macaluso et al. 2017; Martin et al. 2017; Reyna and Newman 2018); translocated individuals have been shown reproduce and raise offspring with a survival rate similar to that of resident individuals (Lunsford et al. 2019). Conservation Actions Proposed
Carry out surveys to determine the trend of the native populations in Mexico and Cuba. Carry out field research and experiments to determine the optimal timing of prescribed fire for habitat management. Investigate how to mitigate potential additive effects of hunting mortality, e.g. via experiments that examine population productivity and recovery at various harvest regimes and densities.
Maintain tree canopy cover at <50% to create open, parkland conditions. Burn 50-75% of understorey vegetation annually during late winter to early summer, in small, patchy mosaics. Seasonally apply vegetation disturbance (every 1-5 years) from prescribed fire and/or mechanical disturbances. Remove or reduce mammalian predators during nesting within the context of intensive habitat management. Consider introducing supplemental feeding regimes to increase winter survival rates (McLaughlin et al. 2019).
Subspecies ridgwayi is on CITES Appendix I (del Hoyo et al. 1994). The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative coordinates habitat restoration programmes throughout most range states in the USA. Small-scale reintroduction and translocation of individuals have been carried out in recent decades to varying degrees of success (Terhune et al. 2010; Macaluso et al. 2017; Martin et al. 2017; Reyna and Newman 2018); translocated individuals have been shown reproduce and raise offspring with a survival rate similar to that of resident individuals (Lunsford et al. 2019). Conservation Actions Proposed
Carry out surveys to determine the trend of the native populations in Mexico and Cuba. Carry out field research and experiments to determine the optimal timing of prescribed fire for habitat management. Investigate how to mitigate potential additive effects of hunting mortality, e.g. via experiments that examine population productivity and recovery at various harvest regimes and densities.
Maintain tree canopy cover at <50% to create open, parkland conditions. Burn 50-75% of understorey vegetation annually during late winter to early summer, in small, patchy mosaics. Seasonally apply vegetation disturbance (every 1-5 years) from prescribed fire and/or mechanical disturbances. Remove or reduce mammalian predators during nesting within the context of intensive habitat management. Consider introducing supplemental feeding regimes to increase winter survival rates (McLaughlin et al. 2019).