This is a rooster:
The description to this video said the bobwhite actually came in the house.
That means that this was a captive-reared bird.
Bobwhites have been bred in captivity for so long that they’ve become tamer than any domestic fowl. They also come in several color and size varieties. Some of the larger sizes appear to be bred for table fare only. (The so-called “jumbo” varieties.)
I have never seen a wild one in West Virginia.
They once were common, but the land no longer can support what is essentially a species that is more at home in the farm fields than dense woodland.
Releasing tame bobwhites into the wild actually doesn’t help much.
All it does is ring the dinner bell for every predator within a ten mile radius.
If they don’t know how to hide from hawks, then all you’re going to have in the end are some rather well-fed raptors.
Bobwhites naturally pair off in the breeding season, but they also travel in groups called coveys. The coveys tend to use the same roosts every night.
Foxes and raccoons are not stupid animals. They catch onto this very quickly.
And it would be one thing if they roosted in trees, but they don’t.
They roost on the ground in a circle. Their tails all point to the center of the circle, and their heads point outward. If they are disturbed, the birds will scatter in all directions. That way, if a predator grabs one, the others will have gone in so many different directions that the predator won’t be able to track them down.
But all of this works nicely in agricultural land.
It doesn’t work in forests that are full of lower and mid-level predators.
When the habitat is gone, turning loose tame bobwhites is a futile exercise.
They simply won’t last.
There has been more money thrown at bobwhite quail conservation than almost any other wild animal in the U.S.
Most of it is not through official organizations like Tall Timbers, Quail Unlimited, or NBCI. Most of it is through private, wealthy landowners in GA, FL, SC, TX and AL.
If you have ever been to a place like Thomasville, GA, it would seem the town exists primarily for shooting of quail over dogs.
As you note, birds have proven to be very sensitive to changes in habitat and increasing efficiency in farming practices (fewer hedgerows, less burning etc.)
The dirty secret of the mini-rebound of wild quail that we have seen in recent years is brutal predator control (on top of the requisite decent habitat). Shooting cooper’s hawks, owls, and snakes, trapping predators, and TNRing feral cats (kidding, they shoot them too) have made a big difference.
I heard that call thoughout childhood summers, but never saw the bird make it. Pretty sweet.
There is a very common misconception about Bobwhite Quail
(Colinus virginianus). People think that when they are dinning on Quail, or eating quail eggs it is Bobwhite quail they are enjoying. Eating the bird it self may well be true but not often. As for quail eggs unless you raise Bobwhite Quail, which I have done, these eggs where not laid by a bobwhite . Instead what you are really dinning on is the Coturnix quail which is a domesticated variety of the Japanese Quail, (Coturnix japonica) The Japanese domesticated the Japanese Quail many centuries ago. Except for size the two two birds look very much alike. When I lived out in rural Laramie county I raised Bobwhite, and later Coturnix Quail. I enjoyed hearing the Too! Wheet! call, and so did every Swift Fox, Red Fox, Coyote in the area, is was a call for lunch to go :) They where kept in very secure pens. Later I went to Coturnix Quail, a larger bird with more meat, and there are varieties that are breed for egg production. It is the eggs that are the real treat. If you have ever had Quail eggs for breakfast you will never be happy with a chicken egg again. Both of these charming quail are easy to raise. In some states you have to get a license from you local Game and Fish to raise Bobwhite, not so with Coturnix.
Oh, one more thing. If you live in the city but would like to kind of have quail for the looking at there is the Button Quail.
They are not really a Quail but a member of the Turnicidae family distantly related to cranes and pheasants They are domesticated and some of the color varsities look just like tiny Bobwhite quail. They are a ground nesting bird and it is the males the incubate the eggs. You ladies will get a kick out this, one female strings along several males. She helps each of them build a nest into which she lays eggs. But it is the males that brood, and raise the chicks. The female spends her time patrolling the territory, and kicking out any rival female that may try to sneak their eggs into her nests.
Go here for Bobwhite Quail, game birds, and just about every breed of domestic fowl there is on this planet.
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html
My family has been customers of McMurray Hatchery for generations. I can vouch for them.
And to make things more confusing, the Chinese or Asian blue quail are marketed as “button quail.”
But they aren’t.
They are the smallest Coturnix quail.
It is really exasperating to see the Asian blue quail (Coturnix chinensis) mis-named like this. Which is why I have got into the habit of using scientific names. I learned this from growing Orchids that is just the way it is done A friend of mine had C chinensis and they are spectacularly colored little birds.
If you really want a challenge try raising grouse. I never tried it but I know people who have, and it is a real art. If a person gets good at it you can contract out to game and fish departments to raise them for release. With the West Nile Virus this is a very important thing. As far as I know nobody has successfully bred Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) in captivity yet. The first person that can do it will be a very popular person with a number of game and fish people both here, and in the states and Canada. No only that but a good paying job would be waiting at The Fish and Wildlife service.
I too grew up listening to this bird whistling bob white. The sound was so clear and distinctive that I asked someone, who is calling Bob White over and over again. My dad informed me that it was a bird called Bobwhite. It was a lovely sound but I never once saw the birds making it. It was a wonderful experience. And I would love to hear it again.