Editing Northern bobwhite (section)

==Behavior and ecology==
[[File:Colin de Virginie MHNT.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Egg]]
Like most game birds, the northern bobwhite is shy and elusive. When threatened, it will crouch and freeze, relying on camouflage to stay undetected, but will flush into low flight if closely disturbed. It is generally solitary or paired early in the year, but family groups are common in the late summer and winter roosts may have two dozen or more birds in a single covey.<ref name=Audubon>{{cite web|url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-bobwhite|website=www.audubon.org|title=Northern bobwhite: Colonus virginialis|publisher=National Audubon Society|author=National Audubon Society|date=n.d.|access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref>

=== Breeding ===
The species was once considered monogamous, but with the advent of radio telemetry, the sexual behavior of bobwhites has better been described as ambisexual polygamy.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Beef, Brush, and Bobwhites|last=Hernandez|first=F|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|year=2012|isbn=9781603444750}}</ref> Either parent may incubate a clutch for 23 days, and the precocial young leave the nest shortly after hatching. The main source of nest failure is predation, with nest success averaging 28% across their range.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rollins|first1=D|last2=Carroll|first2=JP|date=2001|title=Impacts of Predation on Northern Bobwhite and Scaled Quail|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=29|pages=39–51}}</ref> However, the nest success of stable populations is typically much higher than this average, and the aforementioned estimate includes values for declining populations.

Brooding behavior varies in that amalgamation (kidnapping, adopting, creching, gang brooding) may occur.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Faircloth|first1=BC|last2=Palmer|first2=WE|last3=Carroll|last4=JP|date=2005|title=Post-Hatching Brood Amalgamation in Northern Bobwhites / Mezcla polluelos parvadas de Colinus virginianus|journal=Journal of Field Ornithology|volume=76|pages=175–182|doi=10.1648/0273-8570-76.2.175|s2cid=53983235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brooks|first=JL|date=2007|title=Gang-Brooding in Northern Bobwhites in West Texas|journal=Wilson Journal of Ornithology|volume=119|pages=137–138|doi=10.1676/06-040.1|s2cid=86453173}}</ref> An incubating parent may alternatively stay with its young. A hen may re-nest up to four times until she has a successful nest. However, it is extremely rare for bobwhites to hatch more than two successful nests within one nesting season.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sisson|first=DC|date=2017|title=TRIPLE BROOD PRODUCTION BY NORTHERN BOBWHITES|journal=National Quail Symposium|volume=8|pages=238}}</ref>

===Food and feeding===
The northern bobwhite's diet consists of plant material and small invertebrates, such as [[snail]]s, [[tick]]s, [[grasshopper]]s, [[potato beetle|beetle]]s, spiders, crickets, and [[leafhopper]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Butler|first1=DA|last2=Palmer|first2=WE|last3=Cook|first3=MP|date=2012|title=The invertebrate diet of northern bobwhite chicks in Georgia, United States|journal=Animal Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=35|issue=2|pages=415–418|doi=10.32800/abc.2012.35.0415|doi-access=free}}</ref> Plant sources include seeds, wild berries, [[partridge pea]]s, and cultivated grains. It forages on the ground in open areas with some spots of taller vegetation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_022208.pdf|title=Northern Bobwhite|date=September 1999|publisher=Wildlife Habitat Council|pages=2–3|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211173437/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_022208.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Optimal nutrient requirements for bobwhite vary depending on the age of bird and the time of the year. For example, the optimal protein requirement for egg laying hens (23% protein) is much higher than for males (16%).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nestler|first=RB|date=1949|title=Nutrition of Bobwhite Quail|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=13|issue=4|pages=342–358|doi=10.2307/3795628|jstor=3795628}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Case|first1=RM|last2=Robel|first2=RJ|date=1974|title=Bioenergetics of the Bobwhite|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=38|issue=4|pages=638–652|doi=10.2307/3800031|jstor=3800031}}</ref>