Line Transect vs. Capture-removal Estimates of Bobwhite Density

We compared estimates of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) density derived from line transect (LT) and capture-removal (CR) sampling with each other and with 2 independent indices of abundance (coveys flushed/party-hour of hunting and captures/l00 trap-sets). CR estimates were not correlated with either index (P ≥ 0.371), whereas LT estimates were correlated with captures/100 trap-sets (P = 0.009) and not with coveys/party-hour (P = 0.156). Although CR and LT estimates were not correlated (P = 0.288), the estimators gave similar (P > 0.05) estimates of density in each of 4 years of study, and estimates differed by <22% in 3 non-drought years.