Northern bobwhite
Colinus virginianus
Identification Tips:
- Length: 8 inches
- Small, chunky, short-tailed, round-winged, ground-dwelling bird
- Slight crest at top of head
Adult male:
- White chin and supercilium
- Black cap, eyeline, nape and throat
- Reddish-brown body stippled with white and black spots
- Pale belly
Adult female:
- Buff throat and supercilium
- Dark cap, eyeline, nape and throat
- Reddish-brown body with darker back
- Black and white streaks and chevrons about underparts and back
- Pale belly
"Masked Bobwhite":
- Dark face
- Unmarked cinnamon breast and belly
- Reintroduced with limited success to southeast Arizona
Similar species:
Female Montezuma Quail may resemble Northern Bobwhite, but has a head that
appears helmeted rather than crested. Montezuma Quail also lacks the strongly
contrasting supercilium and throat of Northern Bobwhite and has a darker
belly.
Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.