Paul D. Curtis

Early Summer Diet of Male Northern Bobwhite in the North Carolina Sandhills

Crops from adult male northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) were collected May-July 1985 (N = 43) and April-June 1986 (N = 45). Woody plant, legume, and grass seeds accounted for >90% of the total crop volume in both years, but the relative proportions of seed types varied significantly (X2 = 66.38, P <0.005) between years. This was partly due to differences in plant fruiting chronology and seed availability during sample periods, as rye (Secale cereale) was unavailable to most quail collected in 1986. Rye, red bay (Persea borbonia), acorns (Quercus spp.), shrub lespedeza (Le~...

Whistling-cock Indices as a Measure of Northern Bobwhite Harvest in North Carolina

Counts of whistling male northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) were conducted on standardized routes from 1981-86 at Fort Bragg Military Reservation, North Carolina. Harvest data were collected at check stations from 1967-86, and were used to monitor population fluctuations. A linear relationships (r2 = 0.89, P < 0.01) was observed between the mean number of quail heard per station and the subsequent fall harvest. The call index and hunter success also were related (r2 = 0.73, P < 0.03). A negative trend (b = -0.51, P < 0.001) in the mean number of calling males per station was...