Quail Bobwhite behavior

The Bobwhite Quail, unlike many animals, actually benefited from early settling of its range when settlers built protected fenced areas and fields of grain over the quail's range!

Before the mating season in begins, Bobwhite Quail live in coveys of about six birds. However, this number may fluctuate between ten and thirty birds. The coveys begin to break up around March as males compete with each other for the females. After the breeding season ends in the fall, coveys are reformed. Usually there is a social order in such coveys, and the Bobwhite Quail remain close together and tend to move and sleep as a single unit. When startled, however, the Bobwhite Quail scatter in all directions. Usually the covey spends the day in search of food, resting during the hottest hours of the day. Bobwhite Quail prefer to live in edge-lands, where one type of habitat meets another. Generally, this may be the border between a wooded area and a grassy expanse.