Late-Fall and Early-Winter Food Habits of Bobwhite Quail in Missouri

Abstract

The 52-day quail hunting season in Missouri spans a period of late fall and early winter. During the 1941 and 1942 seasons, 5,472 quail crops were received from hunters in all parts of Missouri, and the results of analysis of these crops will provide a key to management of the bobwhite's winter food supply. A review of the literature dealing with the food habits of the bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) reveals that by far the most comprehensive studies to date have been in the southeastern part of its range. Judd (1905) compiled data on the food habits of 918 quail from 21 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Mexico. Handley (Stoddard, 1931) made analyses of 1,569 crops from the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain. Mar-