Michael J. Tonkovich

Evaluating Micro-habitat Selection by Northern Bobwhite in Virginia

We monitored radio-tagged northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) from January through July of 1990 and 1991 to determine if preferential habitat use occurred within the covey home range. We generated estimates of percent bare ground, average height of herbaceous vegetation, percent canopy cover of herbaceous vegetation and honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), proportion of the herbaceous canopy represented by grasses, herbaceous quail foods, and woody vegetation <2 m tall at used and unused sites within 12 covey home ranges. We pooled the data within each home range and used 2 approaches to...

Summer Habitat Relationships of Northern Bobwhite in Piedmont Virginia

We examined the relationships of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) to agricultural land uses in the Virginia Piedmont during 1986-1987. Bobwhite were censused and the associated habitat components quantified at 121 roadside census stations. Relative quail densities decreased (P < 0.05) from 1986 to 1987. A multiple regression model (R2 = 0.43) relating relative density of quail at stations to adjacent habitat found positive (P < 0.10) relationships for fallow croplands and other miscellaneous, uncommon cover types, and negative (P < 0.10) relationships for mown lawns and 3...