Editing Northern bobwhite (section)

=== 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>